Anyone paying for a service will want to get good value for money. But that does not just come down to price. After all, you may pay less to one provider than you would to another, but get an inferior service in return, which means you have made no advance in value.
As the saying goes, ‘you get what you pay for’, although sometimes, of course, this is not true, and then, as a customer, you will have reason to complain, especially if any shortcomings are persistent.
When it comes to water, commercial firms have a clear advantage over households in having the right to change business water supplier, whereas the general public cannot change their domestic water provider.
How Can Commercial Water Users Get Value For Money?
When considering value for money, you may combine various factors in your decisions about whether to stick with your current provider or switch:
- The overall price
- How often have there been any problems with the supply, such as interruptions
- How quickly any issues have been resolved
- Whether your supplier carries out the necessary maintenance
- How much does your supplier plan for the future to meet the needs of tomorrow
- The help your supplier provides to support you in using water more efficiently
These considerations, when taken together, give a broader picture and help you to decide not just whether your supplier is still the right one for today, but whether it will continue to be in the years ahead.
How Did Wessex Water Get It Wrong?
A good example of the kind of issues that may arise with a water company is the case of Wessex Water, which, like any other water supplier, rakes in the cash from customers, but has failed to “operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network adequately to ensure that they could cope with the flows of sewage and wastewater,” according to Ofgem.
The regulator’s statement on Wessex’s shortcomings came as it announced a proposed £11 million support package to rectify the issues. This will be subject to a public consultation before Ofwat makes a final decision on proceeding to impose the package.
Senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, Lynn Parker, said: “Our investigation has found that Wessex Water failed to effectively operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets, which meant there were spills from storm overflows when there shouldn’t have been.”
The sole redeeming feature of this, she noted, was that Wessex was at least cooperative in the investigation and willing to admit its failings.
Various measures proposed include assisting private landlords to seal sewer pipes, which will reduce the amount of groundwater reaching the water firm’s network. There will also be maintenance work to deal with likely future threats caused by spills, plus assistance to be provided to customers to help avoid overflows.
Significantly, the cost is to be met fully by the company and its shareholders, and none of it will be passed on to consumers through their bills.
The measures planned by Ofwat follow action against other water companies over similar failings, with the culprits including Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, Northumbrian Water, Anglian Water and South West Water. Between them, they will have to spend more than £240 million rectifying their shortcomings.
Why Do Business Water Customers Have An Advantage Over Domestic Consumers?
For domestic customers, this sort of action is the only comeback they have and it depends on how proactive Ofwat is, as well as the water companies delivering on the agreements imposed on them.
The powers Ofwat has have also been strengthened, which now means it can block bonuses to water company bosses. It recently revealed it had stopped payouts of £4 million in the first year of having these powers.
All of this may be welcome for consumers, but for businesses, especially those whose operations are heavily reliant on reliable, uninterrupted supplies of clean water, the possibility of enforcement actions or next year’s bonus being curbed will not be enough. Solutions will need to be forthcoming fast.
It should be remembered that part of the service should be your water company helping you to reduce water use when appropriate. You may need water to make products or to provide irrigation, but you can also face problems such as leaks and other inefficient usage. A water audit can help with this, but so can switching to a proactive supplier who can help with this.
Indeed, as the climate changes and water supplies become less certain, it may be that the issue of efficiency is as much about ensuring supplies as keeping your bills down. This is another way in which value for money will not just be about the headline figure on the bill, but the whole package and the commitment of your provider to supplying real value.
