Your church water bill explained
There are two charges on your water bill:
- Wholesale cost of water and waste water services
- Service charge from your water supplier
Wholesale cost of water
This is the price charged by the wholesaler to the supplier (see below for an explanation of who is who in the new water market).
The water market is very different to the energy market, as your supplier cannot increase the wholesale cost. This means that whichever water supplier you choose, they must all charge the same price for water and waste water services.
Service charge from your water supplier
In the energy market, suppliers build all their costs and profit margin into the unit price. The water market is different. As suppliers have to pass on the cost of water at the wholesale price, they instead put all their costs and profit into a service charge.
Some water suppliers will clearly separate the wholesale cost of water and their service charge on your church water bill. Others, however, are not so transparent. They will build the service charge onto the cost of water. This can make it confusing to work out what you are being charged for on your water bill.
Deregulation of the water market explained
Prior to deregulation, there was one water company per region. They had the monopoly on water services for that area. These water companies would maintain and repair the pipe work and bill all households and businesses in their region.
Since deregulation, instead of one company, there is now a Wholesaler and a Retailer.
Your old water company continued as the Wholesaler, looking after the network of pipes, investing in new technology and treating your waste water. Some of the old water companies decided to split into two and also have a Retail arm.
Many water companies, however, decided they would no longer be involved in the billing of water services, and chose to focus instead on the wholesale sector.
New water retailers have formed to take on the billing and administration of water services. It is these retailers who produce your church water bill.
Completely separate businesses, they compete against each other for your custom.
As with other utilities, we work with the water retailers to get the best water prices for your church.