Ofwat has given the green light to code modifications intended to simplify interactions between water wholesalers and retailers around disconnections and tariff changes.
The alterations address inconsistencies between processes that have existed since the market opened to competition in 2017.
For dealing with disconnections and reconnections, there are currently nine separate “very similar” processes.
Ofwat said the change, which comes into effect 12 December, will “improve current and future customers’ experience of the market through reducing the risk of unsatisfactory outcomes because of multiple and varied operational processes and improved market data”.
While each company’s process is currently similar, the timeframes for completing processes can be misaligned.
Work undertaken by market operator MOSL to streamline bilateral interactions between retailers and wholesalers is intended to make it simpler for both and lead to better customer service.
The current, outgoing disconnections process has six steps that all vary slightly depending on which party requested the disconnection to happen. Reconnection, similarly, has three variations of process again dependent on who requested it, each with different service level agreements (SLAs) attached.
The processes will now be grouped together and a single, end-to-end SLA to track the request from start to finish. The 17 separate processes will be incorporated into a single disconnection process and make it easier for a customer to contact the wholesaler directly to book a disconnection rather than the retailer liaising between customer and wholesaler.
Separately, to make tariff changes straightforward, three current processes are to be merged into one for reviewing unmetered or assessed charges and tariff changes. This will be integrated into the Bilateral Hub so they can be monitored and to make sure customers get given consistent advice.
MOSL undertook a review of processes and prioritised making these interactions simpler after noting a need for consistency to make it easier for retailers and wholesalers to work together.
From November last year, the bilateral transactions programme overseen by MOSL integrated several processes into a Bilateral Hub, which the market operator plans to continue through further work to streamline, combine or retire current processes where they can be made more efficient.