Publish data to aid retail competition, water firms told

Water companies should publish data showing all business sites that are eligible to switch supplier ahead of the introduction of retail competition in 2017, delegates heard at the Major Energy Users' Council's conference on water competition yesterday.

Mark Powles, chief executive of Business Stream, said the current system of switching water supplier in England was “too slow, too manual and cumbersome” in comparison to Scotland, where non-household retail competition was introduced 5 years ago. 

South of the border businesses using 5ML of water a year can switch water supplier, but Powles said data for these sites was not readily available. 

“There is no visual market data set available to retailers. The retailer has an obligation to ensure that if they switch a site the site is actually eligible, but it is like finding a needle in a haystack,” he said. 

“We could publish a market data set, all we need is an agreement from the incumbent companies to offer up information of sites that are eligible to switch. We don’t need legislation; we just need companies to co-operate. I challenge the incumbents to step up to the plate and do that now.” 

Powles also said England should consider competition in water and wastewater before full retail competition is introduced in 2017.