Welsh retailer to capitalise on English water market

Welsh Water parent company Glas Cymru has made a move to capitalise on the opening of the English retail market.

The group’s subsidiary, Cambrian Utilities – a business-to-business retail company incorporated on 24 March 2016 – has applied to Ofwat for a water supply and sewerage licence.

The company’s managing director, Sonia McCorquodale Cruise, was previously head of commercial business at Welsh Water.

McCorquodale Cruise has a background in renewable energy. Prior to joining Welsh Water, she was head of commercial projects at Good Energy and, before that, she established and ran a renewable energy consultancy – Renewable Perspective. She has also held various roles at German energy giant RWE.

The company’s other directors are Peter Jeremy Bridgewater, listed as company director, and Christopher Alun Jones, listed as finance director.

This latest WSSL application means 23 companies have now applied to provide water retail services in the new market.

First licences were granted at the beginning of October 2016. Successful applicants were: Anglian Water Business; Castle Water; Clear Business Water; Kelda Retail – now part of Three Sixty – Northumbrian Water Business, Severn Trent and United Utilities, on behalf of Water Plus; South Staffs Water Business; SES Business Water; and Water 2 Business – a joint billing venture between Wessex Water and Bristol Water.

Business Stream, Cobalt Water, Pennon Water Services, Thames Water Commercial Services (which has since decided to exit), and Affinity for Business have also been successful in obtaining licences.

South East Water Choice has applied for, and been granted, a sewerage licence, in order to provide its existing customers with a combined water and sewerage bill. It has also applied for a WSSL through its subsidiary Invicta Water, which will trade as Water Choice South East.

Recent applications have come in from Veolia Water, Everflow, Peel Water and Advanced Demand Side Management.