Water companies have been urged to bolster their plans for the non-household market or risk missing reduction targets.
The warning was made in an open letter to wholesalers by the chair of the independent Strategic Panel for the non-household market Trisha McAulay.
In particular, McAulay called for bolder commitments around non-household metering and water efficiency. She warned that without a refocus goals to cut demand by 9% by 2038 are at risk of being missed.
“It is essential that water efficiency becomes core to everyone’s business and meaningful wholesaler engagement in relation to the non-household market is critical,” McAulay said and stressed the importance of water resource management plans (WRMPs) as an essential enabler for this.
The non-household sector accounts for 30% of total water consumption in England and Wales but the Strategic Panel argues business customers’ role to save water is not prominent enough.
In its strategic policy statement to Ofwat, the Department of environment, food and rural affairs set a target for reducing non-household demand by 9% over the coming 15 years.
Reinforcing the message from market operator MOSL, McAulay added that water efficiency can no longer “be seen as an add-on”, nor the contribution of the retail market be “simply an add on to water companies’ plans for household customers.”
“The NHH market must be fully integrated into these plans as business customers represent a significant opportunity to reduce demand and as the majority of NHH customers use water for the same purposes as household customers (taps and toilets),” McAulay said.
She called on companies to clarify their plans for smarter metering and water efficiency in the non-household sector within final WRMPs, and ensure market engagement is undertaken at board level.
Draft WRMPs have been published by companies across England and Wales for consultation. These set out medium and longer-term ambitions and commitments to ensure plentiful water resources for customers in the future.