In a straw poll conducted by Utility Week, five WOCs – Affinity Water, Bristol Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water and Cholderton and District Water – said they would remain in the market, while South East Water and Cambridge/South Staffordshire Water refused to comment on their plans.
Bournemouth Water said it is unsure of its intentions. Following its acquisition by South West Water last year, it is set to merge into the larger company from 1 April this year, and plans in respect of market opening will be announced “in due course”, it said.
Cholderton and District said it “intends to continue providing water to our existing customers for as long as they wish to retain us as their retail supplier”.
Essex and Suffolk Water is part of Northumbrian Water Group, and said it will be “playing a full part” in the retail market for non-domestic customers. And Bristol Water said it would operate as a retailer with water and sewerage company Wessex Water, through existing joint venture Water2Business.
The market is due to open in April 2017, allowing 1.2 million non-household customers of providers based mainly or wholly in England to choose their supplier of water and wastewater services.
It will link with the existing market in Scotland, which opened to business customers in April 2008.
The government introduced retail exit to the Water Act 2014 at the eleventh hour, following an sustained lobbying effort by peers in the House of Lords, regulators and some water companies, who all believed it that the proper functioning of a competitive market required companies to be able to exit if they wished.
Portsmouth Water became the first water company to announce it would withdraw from the non-household market last month, handing its retail activities on to Scottish supplier Castle Water.
Portsmouth will continue to provide retail services to household customers which make up 95 per cent of its customer-base. It said it “fully intends to participate in the household retail market, if it happens”.