British Gas will begin offering its plumbing and drainage services to almost 2 million of Thames Water’s customers under a landmark new deal.
Under the agreement, a first for the Centrica-owned company, the supplier’s engineers, along with those of its subsidiary Dyno Rod, will carry out services such as fixing leaks and maintaining plumbing and drains.
The offer is open to customers who are homeowners, which make up 56 per cent (1.85 million) of Thames’ 3.3 million households. Further services to non-homeowners are expected in the future.
Thames Water customers can get cover for inside their property boundary for 99p a month for the first year.
Speaking to Utility Week, Americo Lenza, portfolio director of products, services and solutions at British Gas, said the partnership with Thames was born out of the acknowledgement of shifting consumer needs, that the sector is evolving from a more transactional relationship between supplier and customer to one that is more service-based.
Furthermore, he said, coming together with Thames will boost the companies’ net zero ambitions.
“It’s showed how customers are making decisions, how it’s evolving and frankly how we need to evolve with it and we need to evolve rapidly as well,” he explained.
Lenza added: “We see these more structural, large-scale partnerships as a key part of our growth strategy as we go forward. What shape that is going to take will evolve over time.”
Matthew Bateman, managing director of British Gas Services and Solutions, said: “This is our first strategic partnership with a water company and as leaders in our industry we hope to build on our relationship with Thames Water to help our customers live more sustainably and affordably.
“There are many ways we may be able to help further, for example, we will be discussing how some of our smart home products can also help with water leak detection, which will help Thames’ goal of environmental impact.”
Warren Buckley, retail director at Thames Water, said: “We know how disruptive a blocked toilet or a leaking pipe in your home can be and by partnering with British Gas we can offer our customers trusted services to cover unexpected plumbing and drainage problems if they happen on their property.
“We’re working hard to reduce leakage across our network and these services will help customers stop leaks and save water in their own homes.”