Guide To Changing Your Business Water Supplier

Businesses have the option of choosing their own water supplier and the process is quite easy.

The water business market is the same as the other utilities such as gas and electricity.

Wholesalers sell their services to retailers who then resell these to businesses.

If you are unsure on how to make the change, you can load more to find other water utility companies. Before we look at how you can change your business water supplier, let’s first dive into what your business water bill is.

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Understanding Your Business Water Bill

Your water bill will reflect different elements that might be a little confusing to understand at first. These are the elements you will find on your invoice.

Keep in mind that you will receive two different water bills if your sewerage service and your water service is provided by different utility companies.

Your water can be either metered or unmetered changes, this means that if you have a metre the water will be charged off an estimated water consumption. This can include a fixed and a variable charge.

The fixed standing charge is calculated on the size of your water metre and the readings that are done twice per year and any maintenance that is needed to be done on the metre. The variable volumetric charge is calculated on how much water is used.

For businesses who do not have a water metre their bill charges will differ, as there is no way to know how much water has been used by the business.

The fixed charge is calculated on the relatable value of the premises of the business, and the fixed standing charge is calculated on the customer-related costs of supply for billing and customer services.

The sewerage charges will include:

Highway drainage which is the water that runs off roads and into public sewers.
Foul sewage, this is the water used from the toilets and sinks also known as wastewater.
Surface water drainage which is the rainwater that runs into public sewers from the business property.
Trade effluent, this is any liquid or wastewater that runs off the business property into public sewers such as food waste or detergents.

Benefits To Making The Supplier Switch

There are many positives to making the switch to a new business water supplier. This benefits includes:

You can save on the cost of the supplier if you switch to a cheaper one.
You can choose your own standard of billing for consumption and billing.
You might end up with much better customer service if you are struggling with the current utility company.
If you have different businesses in different areas, you can use a utility company that covers all areas- making it easier for you to work with one company.
You can make the switch to electronic billing and ask for more bills to keep track of your businesses consumption while having an easier method to pay your account.

How to Make the Switch to a New Supplier

The process is really quick and easy if you know exactly what you want. Here are the steps that you can take when wanting to make the switch to a new business water supplier.

Use the Open Waters catalogue to find the supplier that meets your specific needs. Be sure to write down all the services that you want from your new supplier so that you can find the supplier that is closest to what you are looking for and within the price range your business can afford.

Once you have found the supplier that you would like to switch to, get a quote. You will need to have your Supply Point Identification number ready when requesting a quote and this will be printed on your latest water bill.

If you are happy with the quote, and the service meets all your requirements then you are ready to sign your new agreement. The new supplier will contact your old one to inform them that you are making the switch, however, these are the documents you need to have available when making the switch.

Contact name and number of premises.
Business address and postcode.
Business name
Annual water consumption
(Optional) – Your unique property reference number, annual spend and demand profile.