[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":170},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fcompare-business-water-suppliers":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":158,"extension":159,"meta":160,"navigation":166,"path":161,"seo":167,"seoTitle":168,"stem":12,"__hash__":169},"content\u002Fcompare-business-water-suppliers.md","Compare business water suppliers",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":146},"minimark",[9,13,17,20,25,28,31,34,38,43,57,61,68,72,75,79,82,89,97],[10,11,5],"h1",{"id":12},"compare-business-water-suppliers",[14,15,16],"p",{},"Comparing water retailers changes one layer of your bill. The wholesaler for your region still owns the pipes and sets the regional charge on your invoice. What you are shopping for is the retailer's price and its billing. Our margin is shown on your quote before you sign anything.",[14,18,19],{},"A retailer reads your meter and issues your bill (Open Water, August 2026). That is the product. If your current deal is already good, we say so and you stay put.",[21,22,24],"h2",{"id":23},"what-you-can-actually-save","What you can actually save",[14,26,27],{},"Retail water margins are thin, so the honest range is modest. Ofwat found in 2021 that medium-sized business customers could expect to save around £250 a year by switching retailer, against about £15 for small customers. In the market's first year Ofwat recorded about £8 million of savings across 1.2 million eligible customers. CCW has reached no conclusion on whether the average business customer now pays more than before the market opened, because tariffs are complex (five-year review, 2017 to 2022).",[14,29,30],{},"So the money is rarely in the unit price. It is in the admin. One retailer across your sites, and water priced alongside your energy on the same form.",[14,32,33],{},"Do nothing and you sit on a default tariff. In England those are capped for customers using under 0.5 megalitres a year, set nationally since April 2023 (Ofwat, decision 2022). A cap sets a ceiling. Shopping sets a price.",[21,35,37],{"id":36},"what-to-compare","What to compare",[39,40,42],"h3",{"id":41},"price","Price",[14,44,45,46,51,52,56],{},"Your bill has two parts. The wholesaler's regional charge is published every year in a scheme of charges, such as the Severn Trent Wholesale Charges Scheme 2025-26, effective 1 April 2025. The retailer's price on top is the part a quote can move, so ask for it as its own line. Regional charges sit on ",[47,48,50],"a",{"href":49},"\u002Fbusiness-water-rates","business water rates",", sourced per our ",[47,53,55],{"href":54},"\u002Fpricing-methodology","pricing methodology",".",[39,58,60],{"id":59},"billing-accuracy","Billing accuracy",[14,62,63,64,56],{},"CCW handled 2,278 business complaints in 2023\u002F24, and leak allowances accounted for 294 of them (five-year review). An estimated read left running for a year costs more than any price you negotiated, which is why we also check bills at ",[47,65,67],{"href":66},"\u002Fbill-validation","bill validation",[39,69,71],{"id":70},"consolidation-across-sites","Consolidation across sites",[14,73,74],{},"One retailer can cover every eligible site in England, with the end dates lined up. Ofwat found 28% of larger business customers had been active in the market in the previous 12 months, against 8% of micro-businesses (2021). Larger portfolios are where the retail market pays.",[21,76,78],{"id":77},"who-can-switch","Who can switch",[14,80,81],{},"England opened in April 2017 and there is no usage threshold. Eligibility attaches to the premises, and a property liable for business rates will ordinarily count as non-household (Ofwat eligibility guidance, July 2022). About 1.2 million businesses, charities and public sector organisations qualify.",[14,83,84,85,56],{},"Scotland deregulated earlier, on 1 April 2008, with Scottish Water as the wholesaler and licensed providers competing on retail (WICS). That market has its own rules and its own contracts, covered on ",[47,86,88],{"href":87},"\u002Fbusiness-water-scotland","business water in Scotland",[14,90,91,92,96],{},"In Wales a premises must use more than 50 megalitres of water a year to choose its retailer, and the Welsh market covers water retail only, with sewerage excluded (Ofwat eligibility guidance, July 2022). Most Welsh businesses are well under that, so our guide to business water in Wales explains the threshold and the useful route is a ",[47,93,95],{"href":94},"\u002Fbusiness-utilities","multi-utility contract review"," instead.",[98,99,101,108,118,124,130,136],"faq-section",{"title":100},"Common questions",[102,103,105],"faq-item",{"question":104},"Will I save money if I compare business water prices?",[14,106,107],{},"Possibly. Ofwat's 2021 finding was around £250 a year for medium-sized business customers and about £15 for small ones. Bigger sites and multi-site portfolios do better.",[102,109,111],{"question":110},"Which is the cheapest business water supplier?",[14,112,113,114,56],{},"There is no single cheapest retailer. The wholesale charge for your region is the same whoever bills you, so retailers compete on the price they add and on service. The lowest price for your premises comes from live quotes on your own supply. Who supplies what is on ",[47,115,117],{"href":116},"\u002Fbusiness-water-suppliers","business water suppliers",[102,119,121],{"question":120},"Is my business eligible to switch water suppliers?",[14,122,123],{},"In England, almost certainly. There is no minimum usage and the test is whether the premises is non-household, which business rates liability normally settles (Ofwat, July 2022). Scotland has its own market. Wales is limited to premises using more than 50 megalitres a year.",[102,125,127],{"question":126},"Do I need a SPID number to compare business water suppliers?",[14,128,129],{},"No. A postcode and a recent bill are enough to start. We find the supply point ourselves.",[102,131,133],{"question":132},"What is the difference between wholesale and retail water charges?",[14,134,135],{},"The wholesale charge pays the company that owns the pipes and treatment works in your region. The retail charge covers meter reading, billing and customer service, and that is the part retailers compete on (Open Water). Switching changes the retailer, so the pipes and the water stay exactly as they are.",[102,137,139],{"question":138},"Will my water supply be cut off when switching?",[14,140,141,142,56],{},"No. Nothing physical changes and nobody visits the property. Open Water says a switch should take no more than one month, and you have at least seven days to change your mind. Timings and paperwork are on ",[47,143,145],{"href":144},"\u002Fswitch-business-water-supplier","switch business water supplier",{"title":147,"searchDepth":148,"depth":148,"links":149},"",2,[150,151,157],{"id":23,"depth":148,"text":24},{"id":36,"depth":148,"text":37,"children":152},[153,155,156],{"id":41,"depth":154,"text":42},3,{"id":59,"depth":154,"text":60},{"id":70,"depth":154,"text":71},{"id":77,"depth":148,"text":78},"Ofwat found in 2021 that medium businesses could save about £250 a year on water retail, small ones about £15. Quote below, our margin shown on it.","md",{"registeredPath":161,"vertical":162,"role":163,"sitemapGroup":164,"schema":165},"\u002Fcompare-business-water-suppliers","water","compare=capture","pages","Service+FAQPage",true,{"title":5,"description":158},"Compare business water suppliers: what you'd really save","80uGOfho8V30XW48GiiA5z2qAyNUc0FIWJZB593_wkw",1786561187501]