[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":240},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fbusiness-water-rates":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":228,"extension":229,"meta":230,"navigation":236,"path":231,"seo":237,"seoTitle":238,"stem":12,"__hash__":239},"content\u002Fbusiness-water-rates.md","Business water rates",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":219},"minimark",[9,13,17,20,25,107,110,113,116,120,123,127,136,139,142,145,149,156,160,163,166,169,202],[10,11,5],"h1",{"id":12},"business-water-rates",[14,15,16],"p",{},"Business water rates are set in two parts. The regional wholesaler publishes a charge, and your retailer adds a margin on top. Wholesale metered water in the Thames region is £2.7346 per cubic metre for the 2026-27 charging year (Thames Water, Wholesale Tariff Document 2026-27, effective 1 April 2026).",[14,18,19],{},"The table below is the wholesale half of that. It is what your retailer pays, so your own bill will be higher. We show the retailer's price and our margin on the same quote, so you can see both. If your current contract already beats today's market, we say so and you stay put.",[21,22,24],"h2",{"id":23},"business-water-rates-2026-27-by-wholesaler","Business water rates 2026-27 by wholesaler",[26,27,28,47],"table",{},[29,30,31],"thead",{},[32,33,34,38,41,44],"tr",{},[35,36,37],"th",{},"Wholesaler",[35,39,40],{},"Volumetric rate per m³",[35,42,43],{},"Wholesale fixed charge per year",[35,45,46],{},"Source document",[48,49,50,65,79,93],"tbody",{},[32,51,52,56,59,62],{},[53,54,55],"td",{},"Thames Water",[53,57,58],{},"£2.7346",[53,60,61],{},"£0.00 ¹",[53,63,64],{},"Thames Water, Wholesale Tariff Document 2026-27, v1.0, published 13 January 2026",[32,66,67,70,73,76],{},[53,68,69],{},"Anglian Water",[53,71,72],{},"£2.6945",[53,74,75],{},"£10.10",[53,77,78],{},"Anglian Water Services Limited, 2026-2027 Wholesale Charges Schedule, v1, published 13 January 2026",[32,80,81,84,87,90],{},[53,82,83],{},"Severn Trent Water",[53,85,86],{},"£2.5503",[53,88,89],{},"£30.82 ²",[53,91,92],{},"Severn Trent Water, Wholesale Charges Scheme Non-Household 2026-27 (final)",[32,94,95,98,101,104],{},[53,96,97],{},"Yorkshire Water",[53,99,100],{},"£2.1459",[53,102,103],{},"£0.00 ³",[53,105,106],{},"Yorkshire Water, Wholesale Charges Scheme Non-Household 2026\u002F2027, accessible update, February 2026",[14,108,109],{},"Charging year 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Non-household metered potable water only, at the smallest meter and usage bands. These are wholesale charges, meaning what your retailer pays the regional wholesaler. Every retailer adds its own charges on top.",[14,111,112],{},"¹ Thames levies no wholesale fixed charge at any pipe size. Businesses in the Thames region still pay a standing charge, and it is the retailer's. Supplementary annual charges apply above 20,000 m³ a year.\n² Severn Trent splits this into an £11.50 meter fixed charge and a £19.32 supply point fixed charge. Small meters, 0-25mm, Zones 1-8.\n³ Yorkshire charges metered water supply volumetrically, with no separate wholesale standing charge. Rate shown is for under 500 m³ a year.",[14,114,115],{},"One retailer publishes the split line by line. On Wave's deemed tariff for the Anglian region, the water standing charge is £80.71 a year. Of that, £10.10 is wholesale and £70.61 is Wave's own retail charge. Wave's volumetric rate is £2.82 against £2.6945 wholesale (Wave Utilities, Charges for business customers in the Anglian Water region, April 2026-27). So the standing charge is where the retail money sits.",[21,117,119],{"id":118},"how-business-water-is-billed","How business water is billed",[14,121,122],{},"If your premises has a meter, you pay a standing charge based on meter size plus a volumetric rate for what you use (Ofwat). Ofwat describes the standing charge as covering the cost of reading and maintaining the meter. Unmetered premises pay a fixed charge plus an amount based on the property's rateable value, so the bill does not track how much water you use. GOV.UK puts it plainly: you pay for the water your business uses, and for draining water and effluent away.",[21,124,126],{"id":125},"what-pushes-the-bill-up","What pushes the bill up",[14,128,129,130,135],{},"Wastewater is billed separately from water. Surface water drainage covers rainwater running off your roof and yard into the public sewer, and it is priced on site area or rateable value. Severn Trent's smallest band, up to 20 m², is £27.62 a year, and Yorkshire's Band A, up to 500 m², is £85.47 (2026-27 wholesale schemes). It is one of the charges we check during a ",[131,132,134],"a",{"href":133},"\u002Fbill-validation","bill validation",".",[14,137,138],{},"Wholesale charges move every April. Severn Trent's statement of significant changes puts the rise for metered business customers at 2.6% to 10.1%, and 11.8% to 14.4% for unmetered ones. United Utilities says its wholesale charges to retailers rise by an average of 11.9% in 2026\u002F27.",[14,140,141],{},"Trade effluent is charged separately again, on volume and strength, usually using the Mogden formula.",[14,143,144],{},"In Wales, only businesses using more than 50 megalitres a year can choose a retailer (Ofwat). Most Welsh readers are under that, so the useful route is a contract and bill review.",[21,146,148],{"id":147},"scotland","Scotland",[14,150,151,152,135],{},"Scotland has run its own market since 1 April 2008, and every non-household customer there can choose a licensed provider (WICS). Scottish wholesale charges are uniform nationwide, set through Scottish Water, and they rose 8.67% in nominal terms for 2026-27 (WICS). Scottish rates and the retailers operating there sit on ",[131,153,155],{"href":154},"\u002Fbusiness-water-scotland","business water in Scotland",[21,157,159],{"id":158},"out-of-contract-and-default-tariffs","Out-of-contract and default tariffs",[14,161,162],{},"If nobody at your business has ever negotiated a water contract, you are on a default tariff. That is where the loyalty tax lives, and it is published in plain sight.",[14,164,165],{},"Compare the two documents for one region. Thames Water's 2026-27 wholesale charge is £2.7346 per m³ with a £0.00 fixed charge. Castle Water's published default for Thames non-household customers is £2.8620 per m³ plus a £70.14 standing charge (Castle Water, Scheme of Charges 2026-27, effective 1 April 2026). Nothing is hidden there. It is the price nobody argued about.",[14,167,168],{},"Ofwat's Retail Exit Code limits the tariffs retailers may apply to customers who have never negotiated. Ofwat opened a consultation on those protections on 2 July 2026, with changes expected from April 2027, because it judges that many smaller customers remain disengaged.",[170,171,173,180,186,196],"faq-section",{"title":172},"Common questions",[174,175,177],"faq-item",{"question":176},"How much are water rates for business?",[14,178,179],{},"For 2026-27, wholesale metered water runs from £2.1459 per m³ at Yorkshire to £2.7346 at Thames, with fixed charges between £0.00 and £30.82 a year. It depends on your region, because the wholesaler sets the largest part of the charge. Your retailer adds its own charge on top of that. Wastewater and drainage are billed separately.",[174,181,183],{"question":182},"How much does 1000 litres of water cost in the UK?",[14,184,185],{},"1,000 litres is one cubic metre, which is the unit water is sold in. At wholesale, that cubic metre costs £2.7346 in the Thames region and £2.5503 at Severn Trent for 2026-27, taken from each wholesaler's published charges scheme. A business pays that plus the retailer's margin, and pays again to have the wastewater taken away.",[174,187,189],{"question":188},"Who is the cheapest commercial water supplier?",[14,190,191,192,135],{},"There isn't one. Most of your bill is the regional wholesale charge, which every retailer pays identically, so retailers compete on a thin slice. The cheapest retailer for a single shop can be beaten for a portfolio of sites. Compare live prices for your own premises on ",[131,193,195],{"href":194},"\u002Fcompare-business-water-suppliers","compare business water suppliers",[174,197,199],{"question":198},"Do businesses pay water rates in Scotland?",[14,200,201],{},"Yes, and Scottish businesses have been able to choose their supplier since 1 April 2008 (WICS). Wholesale charges are uniform across Scotland, and over twenty licensed providers compete on the retail layer.",[14,203,204,205,209,210,214,215,135],{},"Next comes ",[131,206,208],{"href":207},"\u002Fswitch-business-water-supplier","switching business water supplier",", and the ",[131,211,213],{"href":212},"\u002Fbusiness-water-suppliers","business water suppliers"," directory covers who bills where. Rates here are sourced per our ",[131,216,218],{"href":217},"\u002Fpricing-methodology","pricing methodology",{"title":220,"searchDepth":221,"depth":221,"links":222},"",2,[223,224,225,226,227],{"id":23,"depth":221,"text":24},{"id":118,"depth":221,"text":119},{"id":125,"depth":221,"text":126},{"id":147,"depth":221,"text":148},{"id":158,"depth":221,"text":159},"Wholesale metered water is £2.7346\u002Fm³ in the Thames region for 2026-27 (Thames Water). Sourced rates for four wholesalers, plus what your retailer adds.","md",{"registeredPath":231,"vertical":232,"role":233,"sitemapGroup":234,"schema":235},"\u002Fbusiness-water-rates","water","data flagship","pages","Article+FAQPage",true,{"title":5,"description":228},"Business water rates 2026-27: wholesale charges by region","nfOyfDBG_x2pgmpGD2uOatu5mNd9pY9GMq7-siXvA9Q",1786561187473]