Thames to remove retailer subscription charges

Ofwat has warned monopoly providers not to abuse their dominant position in the water retail market after Thames Water made further commitments to address the regulator’s concerns over competition.

Following an investigation by Ofwat into whether it had unfairly removed or limited access to water consumption data, the company proposed to overhaul its metering strategy and make data available to retailers.

The regulator said it challenged the company on issues raised in the investigation and consultation, which led to Thames improving the commitments it previously proposed. These now include a more detailed approach for how it will fulfil requests for loggable meters. Furthermore, the company will remove subscription charges for data services and provide compensation where logging equipment has been lost or damaged during meter replacement.

The regulator said it was moved to accept Thames’ updated commitments but the company must work hard to regain trust with affected retailers and third parties.

Emma Kelso, Ofwat’s senior director of markets and enforcement, said: “It’s crucial that those affected by Thames Water’s previous decision have confidence in these commitments and Thames Water needs to work hard to rebuild trust with those retailers and third parties though better engagement and the provision of services that meet their needs.”

A probe began in 2019 in response to complaints that Thames had installed smart meters that were not compatible with certain data logging devices used by retailers; that it removed third-party devices when meters were being replaced; and that the company didn’t give third parties access to data from the smart devices.

Responses to a consultation in May last year highlighted that Thames’ smart metering policy was unclear and required more engagement with customers and retailers when replacements were made to ensure existing logging equipment could be used. Another concern was that Thames’ data services were too costly.

Ofwat said the proposed measures will ensure Thames’ actions do not harm competition in the market and give retailers and third-party providers more confidence in the data they get from the company.

Kelso added: “We’re grateful to those who highlighted concerns with the originally proposed commitments and are now pleased to see Thames Water addressing these in its metering, data and compensation policies.

The regulator will hold a further consultation on its proposal to accept Thames’ updated commitments before making a final decision.