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Domestic water retail

Editor's picks

Macquarie bets on Southern
Macquarie has signaled its determination to plough capital into the water sector's whipping boy Southern Water as it continues its struggle to "become brilliant at the basics". Industry analyst Nigel Hawkins examines the bid and its background.
Analysis
South Staffs upgrades treatment works with green recovery funding
South Staffs has secured government funding of £10 million under the Green Recovery Challenge that enabled it to upgrade its largest water treatment plant to a ceramic filtration system that will save around 1,000 tonnes carbon annually. The company plans to invest around £55 million upgrading two treatment works during AMP7.
News

Featured

Macquarie bets on Southern
Macquarie has signaled its determination to plough capital into the water sector's whipping boy Southern Water as it continues its struggle to "become brilliant at the basics". Industry analyst Nigel Hawkins examines the bid and its background.
Analysis
NI Water calls for government backing for climate plan
NI Water has urged government to back its business plans that include opportunities for other stakeholders to utilise its infrastructure and resources to achieve shared climate change mitigation goals.
News
Vodafone launches smart platform for legacy water assets
Vodafone's head of innovation Danny Kelly tells Utility Week about its new software platform that he says will allow water companies to combine data from both new hardware and legacy assets to create smarter networks.
News

Latest in Domestic water retail

Open banking rolled out to 50% of UU customers
United Utilities has seen one in two customers sign up to the open banking scheme it launched last year, its new chief executive has told Utility Week. She described how taking the initiative in-house had overcome underwhelming take-up initially.
News
Octopus’ Kraken platform expands into water
Kraken Technologies, the provider of Octopus Energy’s proprietary end-to-end energy services platform, has announced it is expanding into other utility sectors such as water and broadband. As part of the expansion, the company has formed a new business, Kraken Utilities, which is hiring for another 50 positions to add to its existing team of 250 people.
News
Affordability woes affecting more than half of homes
As the cost of living crisis bites householders across the UK, water billpayers in England and Wales have reported increased anxiety about affording their bills, with more than 61% stating they are concerned about their finances worsening this year. Research by Ofwat showed a correlation between those struggling to pay and suffering with poor wellbeing including depression.
News
Ofwat to add customer condition to licences
Ofwat is looking to add a customer-focused condition to water companies’ licences to incentivise good customer service. Speaking at the Utility Week Customer Summit, Ofwat senior director Claire Forbes said the regulator is keen to co-create the licence condition with companies, consumer groups and other stakeholders before consulting on it towards the end of this year.
News
How smart water meter data can help customers and net zero
Smart water meters, though not yet mandated in the UK, have the potential to provide significant benefits for the UK's drive to net zero and for customer experience. David Ainsley of Capita explores how to maximise their potential.
Opinion
The customer service crisis continues in the utilities sector
The most recent UK Customer Service Index revealed that while satisfaction levels across the utilities sector have improved in the last 12 months, they still lag behind the UK average. Writing for Utility Week Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service, explains the growing importance for utilities to get their service strategy right.
Opinion
Energy Reset: A view from the water sector
As part of Utility Week’s Energy Reset campaign, we present a series of perspectives on tackling the cost of living crisis. Louise Beardmore is customer services and people director at United Utilities, the water company covering the most economically challenged region in the UK. In our latest piece, Beardmore argues there is a strong case for collaboration across the utilities sector.  
Opinion
Utilities see record levels of complaints
Complaints about the standard of customer service from utility companies have reached record levels, according to the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index. Published twice yearly by the Institute of Customer Service, the survey polls 10,000 customers to track the impact of customer service on business performance.
News
Judges named for second year of water innovation contests
Ofwat has named the judging panels for its two innovation fund competitions - Catalyst and Transform - which will awards grants of up to £10 million to develop solutions to shared problems in the water sector to benefit customers and the environment.
News
CCW: Thames complaints skewed overall sector performance
A “disproportionately high” number of written complaints received by Thames Water skewed the sector’s overall performance in 2020/21, a report by CCWater has revealed. The consumer group’s annual report compares the performance of water companies on the number of written complaints they received per 10,000 connections, as well as assessing how well complaints were handled. It found that complaints from households to the water industry rose for the third successive year, with an 11% increase on 2019/20.
News
SES lifts boil notice after E-Coli scare
SES Water has told customers it is now safe to drink from the tap after confirming there is “no indication” that water leaving its Westwood treatment works is contaminated.
News
Thames and SGN team up for biogas installations
Thames has awarded an eight-year contract to SGN to design, build and operate biomethane gas-to-grid facilities at its wastewater treatment works with the first installation due to be completed in March 2022. Gas from anaerobic digestion will be used to heat 3,500 homes in north London.
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