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UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH JULY 2017 | 9 E nthusiastic curiosity led Helen Gillett to join the water sector from telecommunications. Affinity for Business's managing direc- tor was formerly customer services director at BT Business, but was wooed by the lure of the new water retail market aer a chance meeting with Affinity Water chief executive Simon Cocks. "The more we talked, the more it was obvious that there was an opportunity to do something that I would learn a lot from and I could bring a lot to," she explains, when she meets Utility Week at Affinity for Business's office in Hatfield. As a newcomer to the sector, Gillett has invested a lot of time upfront swotting up on its background and drivers. The reading, along- side her experience in telecoms, has shaped her view of what is important when running a water retail business. Customer choice, she concludes, is a good thing – but competition also has its hazards. Water retailers must tread a tightrope between offering consumer value and taking respon- sibility for sustainability. They must also take on board salutary lessons from parallel sectors about the com- promises that scale can inflict on service. Gillett has led sales in a number of different environments, but says her current role is the first time she has had to ask the customer to "please buy less" of her product. "That is not the natural instinct of retail," she remarks. But it's one she has quickly come to terms with because Gillett's rapid self-education in the challenges of water sustainability has led her to a somewhat surprising conclusion for a water retail boss – competition may not necessarily the best thing for the sustainability of water, especially in the South East. Water is incredibly cheap, she argues, and there are already cus- tomers who don't think they should have to pay for water at all "because it comes from the sky". Gillett is worried that multi-utility bundling, brought about by increased retail competition, could have a negative effect on water resources. "It could be great commercially for custom- ers, but if it makes water the cheap- est thing on the list and almost like it's free, that's not good in the south- east of the UK. "Competition, in all its glory, isn't necessarily the best answer for the long-term sustainability of the region. That's something I know we [Affinity for Business] take seriously. I'm not so sure other retailers necessarily do, particularly if they don't have a water background." That said, Gillett observes that sustain- ability can also be "a good commercial driver".