Speaking at Utility Week Live, Graham Southall said this concern is something that keeps him awake at night because there remains “an awful lot still to do before we get to 1 April 2017 ”.
He added the water wholesalers “need to ensure the data is fit for purpose to allow the market to operate properly” so retailers are able to offer prices to, and acquire new business customers.
Despite his concerns, he was adamant the market will open when it is scheduled to, although “there is now no room for error” in the timetable.
On top of this, Southall warned that in the pursuit of accurate data, the sector must not include “ludicrous” amounts detail which will “put a burden on market operators, particularly as small licence providers may struggle to keep the data set up to date”.
Anglian Water Business managing director Bob Wilson expressed less concern over the issues of data, but agreed that it is a “big job” that the wholesalers “just have to crunch through”.
He added that while it remains important, having the customer data fully organised and cleansed is not vital to market opening.
“When the market opened in Scotland, it wasn’t perfect. But one of the reasons to select your retailer was someone who could make your data right.”