Pressure on Government as water market runs cold just months after deregulation
26th October 2017 | Water
An energy and utilities consultancy, Utilitywise, has called on the Secretary of State for Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Michael Gove, to put London businesses first and make the water market truly open and honest.
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Market Operator Services Ltd (MOSL), which reports to Ofwat and DEFRA, has released switching figures for the second quarter of 2017/18.
Water market deregulated on 1 April 2017, but analysis from Utilitywise shows that just 1 per cent of businesses have switched water supplier.
Businesses in London and the South East could collectively save £39m on their water bills, with approximately 234,000 businesses in the region now having control over who supplies their water.
The water market deregulated on 1 April 2017, but MOSL has released switching figures for the second quarter of 2017/2018 showing the 25,010 supply points have switched water retailer in the past three months – a decrease of 31 per cent compared to the first quarter after the market opened.
In total 61,311 water supply points have switched since 1 April 2017. However, as small businesses often have two-meter points, analysis suggest that the number of businesses who have switched water supplier is just one per cent.
Brendan Flattery, CEO of Utilitywaise, said, “The water market deregulated on 1 April, but we have learnt today that just one per cent of businesses have switched water supplier, showing that the water market is still not truly open. It beggars belief that there has been a decrease in switching over the past quarter, proving once again that Ofwat has not been given the authority to enforce polices which would result in better deals for customers.
“While MOSL has dressed up their poor results as “steady progress”, at this rate it would take until 2039 for all London businesses to switch water supplier and start saving money.”
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