[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":131},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fbusiness-water-scotland":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":118,"extension":119,"meta":120,"navigation":126,"path":121,"seo":127,"seoTitle":128,"stem":129,"__hash__":130},"content\u002Fbusiness-water-scotland.md","Business water in Scotland",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":110},"minimark",[9,13,17,20,25,28,31,34,38,41,44,47,51,60,64,77],[10,11,5],"h1",{"id":12},"business-water-in-scotland",[14,15,16],"p",{},"Scotland has its own water market. It opened on 1 April 2008, and every business, charity and public body can choose its retailer (WICS). Scottish Water wholesales. Licensed retailers bill you. If nobody at your business has ever switched, your retailer is most likely Business Stream.",[14,18,19],{},"We quote across the Scottish retailers and show the retailer's price with our margin on it, before you sign. If what you already pay beats today's market, we say so and you stay put.",[21,22,24],"h2",{"id":23},"how-scotlands-water-market-works","How Scotland's water market works",[14,26,27],{},"Scottish Water owns the pipes and treatment works, and sells wholesale to licensed retailers (WICS). It does not bill businesses, so the name on your invoice is a retailer.",[14,29,30],{},"Wholesale charges are identical across Scotland by ministerial policy, so retailers compete on the retail element only (WICS). In England each regional wholesaler sets its own charges, and that market opened nine years later in April 2017 (Ofwat).",[14,32,33],{},"There are 22 licensed retailers on the WICS register (checked August 2026). You are allowed to use one retailer for water and a different one for sewerage (WICS).",[21,35,37],{"id":36},"the-incumbent-question","The incumbent question",[14,39,40],{},"Around 160,000 organisations in Scotland can choose a retailer (WICS). That choice has existed since 2008. Nobody publishes a Scottish switching rate, so we will not estimate one.",[14,42,43],{},"The regulator puts it plainly. \"If there has been no switch then, by default, it is likely that your retailer is Business Stream\" (WICS, Scotland on Tap FAQs). Business Stream is a subsidiary of Scottish Water, registered as Scottish Water Business Stream Limited, company number SC294924 (Companies House).",[14,45,46],{},"None of that makes it the wrong retailer for you. It makes it the default one, and a default is a price nobody negotiated. If you have never signed an explicit contract you are on a deemed contract, which WICS caps at the default maximum tariff. You can leave a deemed contract at any time with no additional fees or charges (WICS, Default Directions 2026-27). Renegotiating with the retailer you already have is a normal outcome and often the right one.",[21,48,50],{"id":49},"charges-in-scotland","Charges in Scotland",[14,52,53,54,59],{},"Charges are set differently from England's, with metered premises paying for what they use plus fixed charges and unmetered premises paying on rateable value (WICS). The wholesale element sits in Scottish Water's Part 2 Wholesale Charges Scheme 2026-27, published 19 February 2026, and that is the document behind the arithmetic on your invoice (WICS). Regional England figures sit on ",[55,56,58],"a",{"href":57},"\u002Fbusiness-water-rates","business water rates",", and no Scottish per-unit figure appears here because we have not verified one.",[21,61,63],{"id":62},"switching-in-scotland","Switching in Scotland",[14,65,66,67,71,72,76],{},"The process mirrors England's. You change the retailer that bills you, and the water and the meter stay where they are. Getting your last invoice out of the drawer is most of the work; the rest is on ",[55,68,70],{"href":69},"\u002Fswitch-business-water-supplier","switch business water supplier",", and the retailers are listed on ",[55,73,75],{"href":74},"\u002Fbusiness-water-suppliers","business water suppliers",".",[78,79,81,88,94,100],"faq-section",{"title":80},"Common questions",[82,83,85],"faq-item",{"question":84},"Is Business Stream the same as Scottish Water?",[14,86,87],{},"No, though they are related. Business Stream is a subsidiary of Scottish Water, registered as Scottish Water Business Stream Limited, company number SC294924 (Companies House). Scottish Water is the wholesaler and does not sell to businesses. Business Stream is one of 22 licensed retailers that do (WICS register, checked August 2026).",[82,89,91],{"question":90},"Is Business Stream part of Yorkshire Water or Southern Water?",[14,92,93],{},"It is a Scottish Water subsidiary (Companies House). English wholesalers such as Yorkshire Water and Southern Water own the network in their own regions of England. English and Scottish retail brands are separate companies, which is why the question keeps coming up.",[82,95,97],{"question":96},"Are business water rates cheaper than domestic?",[14,98,99],{},"They are built differently, so the comparison rarely holds. Household charges in Scotland are set under Scottish Water's household scheme, while a business pays its retailer under a contract, and the tariff depends on which licensed provider it chose (mygov.scot). We have seen no published like-for-like comparison worth quoting.",[82,101,103],{"question":102},"How much does water cost for a small business in the UK?",[14,104,105,106,76],{},"There is no meaningful average, and anyone publishing one is estimating. In Scotland a metered premises pays for what it uses plus fixed charges, and an unmetered one pays on rateable value (WICS). The only number worth having is the one for your own premises, read off your last invoice. If that invoice looks wrong, start with ",[55,107,109],{"href":108},"\u002Fbill-validation","bill validation",{"title":111,"searchDepth":112,"depth":112,"links":113},"",2,[114,115,116,117],{"id":23,"depth":112,"text":24},{"id":36,"depth":112,"text":37},{"id":49,"depth":112,"text":50},{"id":62,"depth":112,"text":63},"Scotland's water market opened 2008. Scottish Water wholesales, 22 retailers sell. Never switched? WICS says your retailer is likely Business Stream.","md",{"registeredPath":121,"vertical":122,"role":123,"sitemapGroup":124,"schema":125},"\u002Fbusiness-water-scotland","water","segment-nation","pages","Service+FAQPage",true,{"title":5,"description":118},"Business water Scotland: the default retailer question","business-water-scotland","pfo1YsnfSyJgepFfu7Th7V9-RJZ27DG_hG7SEr0MrUM",1786561187625]