Utility Week

22 | 15TH - 21ST JUNE 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Customers CCWater said in February that the water industry needed to "step up" its efforts to engage with customers to ensure awareness among small businesses does not "stag- nate". That call was prompted by research conducted by the consumer watchdog that found just 38 per cent of small and medium- sized businesses in England knew they could switch supplier. Credit arrangements In mid-January, Ofwat launched a review of the market codes that set out credit require- ments for retailers, aer questions were raised about whether they were "too strin- gent" and if this could be "dissuading" smaller new entrants from competing in the market. As it stands, retailers can choose to pre- pay wholesalers for the water their custom- ers use, or they can choose to post-pay, which includes providing a form of credit. This form of credit must cover the cost of supplying their customers for 50 days. Wholesalers can choose not to work with a retailer if they do not have the means to do this. However, a number of wholesalers told Water.Retail they were already in the process of reviewing their credit term arrangements with retailers. Thames Water became the first (and so far only) wholesaler to announce "new and improved" commercial terms for retailers, in December last year. The wholesaler said it would waive collateral cover on the first £1 million of wholesale turnover for retailers across its region. Northumbrian Water, United Utilities and Severn Trent have all said they plan to offer alternative credit options for retailers. Meanwhile, Anglian Water said it will not go in the same direction as Thames and is working on a different approach. And South- ern Water said it does not believe that waiv- ing collateral is the "right way forward at the moment". Portsmouth Water said it has been "working with retailers" to ensure that both it and they have the right balance of risk in terms of levels of collateral and exposure to concentrated credit risk. Meanwhile, South East Water head of service management Steve Andrews said this is "not something the company has looked at". Wholesaler-retailer interaction Industry participants have for some time been calling for the processes for interac- tion between wholesalers and retailers to be standardised. As it stands, each wholesaler has its own systems and processes for inter- action, which has proven to be both confus- ing and time-consuming for retailers. In a column for Water.Retail (9 February 2018), Business Stream chief executive Jo Dow wrote that there are efforts being made to address the "complex and burdensome" process for interaction. For example, the dig- ital strategy committee set up by MOSL has WHAT? Ofwat's review of the severe "freeze-thaw" that followed the Beast from the East cold weather front in February this year. It is unconfirmed whether this will include the non-household market WHAT? CCWater's cus- tomer service league table of retailers' cus- tomer service performance WHAT? Waterwise's water effi- ciency league table WHAT? MOSL's market improvement strategy shared with members WHAT? Tor Water finally being granted its licence WHAT? Yorkshire Water's busi- ness market plans been tasked with reviewing the processes currently in place and assessing the appetite for an industry-wide portal. In the open water market, most wholesal- ers have a portal through which they man- age service requests from retailers, as well as informing them of planned and unplanned changes to water and wastewater services. In a wide-ranging survey carried out by Water.Retail in March, there was some confu- sion among retailers about whether Thames Water offered such a portal or not. However, the wholesale company has said it is now in the process of developing a portal, which will deliver "enhanced functionality". Retailers' service to customers CCWater has warned that a few poor- performing retailers are responsible for driving a precipitous rise in customer com- plaints, which have more than tripled since the market opened. The watchdog released figures in April revealing that it received 972 complaints from non-household customers during the final three months of 2017/18. This brings the overall total for the year to 2,782, compared with 824 in the 12 months leading up to the market opening. CCWater deputy chief executive Phil Mar- shall condemned a small number of retailers for driving the rise, which he said was "not a reflection on all suppliers". He said that, although the council had anticipated that complaints would rise as the market "finds it feet", the increase has been "higher than we expected and that's largely down to a small number of retailers". At Future Retail #1 – a conference hosted by Water.Retail in March – Marshall told delegates that eight out of ten complaints in the newly created market relate to one of the three biggest companies: Castle Water, Water Plus, and Anglian Water Business (now part of Wave). CCWater will publish a report in late June, revealing the best and worst-performing retailers for complaints. Mergers and acquisitions During the last six months, Castle Water acquired Invicta Water – which trades as Water Choice – for an undisclosed sum, a move which will see 50,000 business cus- tomers in South East Water's service area transfer to Castle Water in July. Having started out with a gargantuan customer-base bolstered by the acquisition of Portsmouth's and Thames Water's busi- ness customers, Castle Water has struggled to retain its customers since the market opened, resulting in by far the biggest net loss of supply points of any retailer. A question that remains on the lips of market participants is when Yorkshire Water will announce its plans for the business retail market. Will it sell its customers? And if so, who will buy them? WHEN? Mid-June WHEN? Late June WHEN? Unknown WHEN? Early June WHEN? Imminently WHEN? Unknown WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR… TOP TEN NATIONAL SUPPLIERS BY NUMBER OF SUPPLY POINTS Water Plus 857,368 Castle Water 500,041 Wave 423,522 Source for Business 161,357 Business Stream 153,116 Water2business 138,874 Affinity for Business 73,886 Water Choice 51,247 SES Business Water 24,830 Everflow 21,518

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