I am the customer: Andrew Bainbridge

“Water competition brings problems and opportunities”

Water has rarely been at the top of the customer agenda because the amounts consumed are usually very much less than the amounts of electricity and gas that are used. Many companies have paid their water bills without questioning them – despite common billing errors.

For years, the Major Energy Users’ Council (MEUC) advised large customers on ways to save water and, as soon as it was clear that full competition would come in 2017, I accepted Ofwat’s request to bring customers and suppliers together in a new Water Competition Action Group.

Suppliers who had never operated in a competitive market were sluggish to embrace customer demand and customers often have no effective plan to reduce waste, cope with potential drought or deal with flooding.

Customers must understand how they can benefit from asking for tenders from competing suppliers and what the problems and opportunities are likely to be. Suppliers, meanwhile, need to make a very critical appraisal of their customer challenge groups. Are they working properly? Do they really know what goes wrong and what steps are they taking to improve?

MEUC members have had private meetings with the water minister and his predecessor to ensure that new water legislation will work under competition.

Our meeting on 3 December, hosted by Thames Water at Reading FC’s stadium, will bring together leading figures in the industry to agree action on common problems. Come and join us!