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Severn Trent Services could replace Thames Water as the sewerage undertaker for a Ministry of Defence site and a new housing development, under proposals put forward by Ofwat today.
Ofwat said it is “minded to grant the variation” under its new appointment and variation regime, meaning Severn Trent Services may be granted permission to serve the site in Wellesley near Aldershot, which will see 3,850 new homes developed on it, ahead of the incumbent Thames Water if the move is approved following a consultation.
The regulator has the power under its new appointment and variation regime to select an out of area supplier to provide water and/or sewerage services to a site, provided customers are no worse off under the new appointment.
Ofwat stated that under the proposal put forward by Severn Trent Services customers on the site would be “no worse off” than if they were served by Thames Water.
It added that Severn Trent Services offers better customer service than Thames Water because: it will adopt private pumping stations ahead of the October 2016 mandated deadline, whereas Thames Water will not; it will provide a free clean up service for 14 days if a sewer flooding incident occurs after it has been first cleared compared to seven days for Thames; it will connect new sewers two days faster than Thames; and it only requires a five day notice period to connect new sewers, nine shorter than Thames.
However, Ofwat explained that areas where Severn Trent Services does not match Thames Water, such as offering shorter call centre hours, not offering a social tariff (other than Watersure), and not having a charitable fund, “must be kept under review”.
The regulator added any potential detrimental effect of awarding the appointment to Severn Trent Services on Thames Water customers is “very likely to be offset by the wider benefits” of the competition created by the new appointments regime, spurring the incumbent to “raise its game”.
The deadline for responses to the consultation is 6 November.
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