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Water

Water

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From source to account

Follow every supply point before comparing a price.

The wholesaler owns the network and sets regulated charges. The retailer bills the account. Only the retail element can be put to market.

Wholesaler

Owns the network, treats the water and sets the regulated wholesale charges.

  1. 01SPID and occupied site
  2. 02Meter serial, size and reads
  3. 03Wastewater return basis
  4. 04Surface-water drainage
  5. 05Overnight flow and leaks

Take control with Omnium

Check the water bill the same way we check the energy one.

Meter reads, SPIDs, meter details and drainage basis checked against how the site actually uses water.

  • Actual reads confirmed

    We confirm whether the reads behind the invoice are actual or assessed.

  • Every SPID checked

    Each SPID billed is confirmed to belong to your site, not a neighbouring supply.

  • Leaks not charged twice

    The assumed return to sewer and drainage basis are checked against actual site use.

  • Honest about what switching does

    We say plainly that changing retailer only affects the smaller, retail part of most invoices.

Where it goes wrong, and what we do about it

  • How Omnium solves it

    We confirm whether the reads behind the invoice are actual or assessed, and query it where it is not.

  • How Omnium solves it

    Every SPID billed is checked to confirm it belongs to you, not a neighbouring supply.

  • How Omnium solves it

    We check the assumed return to sewer and surface water drainage basis against how the site is actually used, so a leak is not paid for twice.

  • How Omnium solves it

    We say plainly that changing retailer only affects the retail element, the smaller part of most invoices, so the real savings usually sit in reads, SPIDs and drainage basis, not the supplier name.

Read moreThe detail, in full

In short

Checking a business water account means confirming the meter reads are actual rather than assessed, that every SPID billed belongs to you, that the meter serial and size match the meter on site, and that the assumed return to sewer and the surface water drainage basis fit how the site is actually used. A leak is charged twice, as water supplied and again through the waste water line.

What this does not do. Changing retailer only affects the retail element, which is the smaller part of most invoices, so it is not the fix on its own. Repairs, meter works and drainage surveys are separate costs, quoted before they are commissioned.

The first review across your invoices costs nothing. Later work is quoted and agreed in writing before it begins. Cost recovery

How the market splits

The wholesaler owns the pipes. The retailer bills you.

The non-household water market separates the wholesaler from the retailer. The wholesaler owns the pipes, treats the water and sets the wholesale charges. The retailer bills you, reads the meter and handles your account. You can change the retailer. You cannot change the wholesaler.
  • 01Cannot be changed

    The wholesaler

    • Owns the pipes and treats the water.
    • Sets the wholesale charges, regulated by Ofwat.
    • Charges pass straight through the bill unchanged.
  • 02Competitive

    The retailer

    • Bills you, reads the meter and handles the account.
    • Holds the only element you can put out to market.
    • A thin slice of the total bill.

Wholesale charges are set by the regional wholesaler and regulated by Ofwat. They pass straight through your bill unchanged whichever retailer you use. Only the retail element is competitive, and it is a thin slice of the total.

That matters because it sets a realistic expectation. Changing retailer on its own moves a small part of the bill. The larger opportunities are almost always in the data: meters read incorrectly or not at all, a charge for surface water drainage on a site that does not drain to the public sewer, wastewater volumes assumed rather than measured, vacant premises still being billed, and leaks running unnoticed on a supply nobody monitors.

Each supply point has its own identifier, a SPID, in the same way an electricity meter has an MPAN. Multi-site estates routinely hold SPIDs nobody has reconciled against the sites they still occupy.

Changing retailer on its own moves a small part of the bill. The larger opportunities are almost always in the data.

What we do on water

Five areas of work.

Paid on the same basis as electricity and gas: an agreed margin or a fixed management fee.
  1. We run the retail market at renewal and rank offers on the full billed position rather than the retail margin alone. We are paid on the same basis as electricity and gas, by an agreed margin or a fixed management fee.
  2. We build the SPID list from market data and check it against the sites you actually occupy. Closed sites, duplicated supply points and premises billed to the wrong party all surface at this stage.
  3. We check the tariff, the meter reads, the wastewater return percentage and the drainage charges against the site as it is. Where a charge does not reflect the site, we raise it with the retailer in writing and pursue the correction.
  4. Sustained overnight flow on a site that closes is a leak until proven otherwise. We review consumption patterns and flag supplies that are running when the building is not.
  5. Where a site discharges anything other than ordinary sewage, the consent and the charging basis need checking in their own right. We work through it with the wholesaler rather than assuming the standard basis applies.

Who can switch retailer

Eligibility and the scope of the competitive market differ by nation.

  • 01Nation

    England

    In England, the non-household market opened in April 2017. Business, charity and public sector premises are eligible with no consumption threshold.
  • 02Nation

    Wales

    In Wales, premises supplied by a wholesaler based wholly or mainly in Wales can only switch where they use more than 50 megalitres a year, and the competitive market covers water retail services only, not sewerage.
  • 03Nation

    Scotland

    In Scotland, the non-household market has been open since 2008 and operates under separate arrangements.

How to check this

Each claim on this page is answered by something you can read for yourself. Nothing below states a figure; it names the document or register the claim is held against.

  • Point 01

    We hold a Level 1 Letter of Authority only

    The authority wording sets out what we may do with your data and states that we cannot sign a contract on your behalf. Read it before you sign it.

    Read the Letter of Authority

  • Point 02

    How we are paid is agreed in writing before you sign

    Our margin or management fee is stated in the terms that accompany a recommendation, and nothing is added afterwards.

    Client terms and conditions

  • Point 03

    Every figure we quote carries a dated source document

    Records state the figure, what it is measured against, the document it is taken from and the date on that document. Records still held anonymous are labelled as such.

    Evidence records

  • Point 04

    We separate regulated charges from the part a supplier can hold

    Network and policy charges are set outside the supplier and reset each April for every supplier alike. We do not describe them as fixed unless we hold written confirmation for that product.

    Non-commodity charges

  • Point 05

    Validation is carried out against the invoice and the contract

    Each query names the invoice, the line it sits on and the contract term it is checked against, so a supplier can answer it directly.

    Bill validation

Read the detail

Proof

What we have delivered, and who checks our work.

Each figure below is taken from our evidence record and has a full case study behind it.

  1. £206,000a year saved on procurement

    Read the case study: Michels and Taylor

  2. £161,000a year saved on gas, about £483,000 across a three-year term

    Read the case study: Broadening Choices for Older People

  3. Group rates10 per centlower than the previous brokered prices

    Read the case study: Roam

Checkable with the issuing body

All case studiesThe full evidence record