Scottish & Southern Energy’s break into water rubber stamped by Ofwat

Ofwat’s announcement today that it has rubber stamped Scottish & Southern Energy’s bid to become the first new water and sewerage company to serve domestic customers since the market was privatised 18 years ago, is welcomed by uSwitch.com, the independent online comparison and switching service.

Describing the move as: “Small, but significant”, Tim Wolfenden, Head of Home Services at uSwitch.com, says: “Although the number of households that Scottish & Southern Energy will be supplying water to is low, the implication behind it is significant and consumers, the water industry and other potential new entrants will be watching with interest.

“This is the first time that a company entering the market will be able to install, own, operate and supply water and sewerage services to households and will be a test of how competition could be injected into the market in the future.

“Scottish and Southern Energy comes with an excellent pedigree in customer service - voted top energy supplier three times in a row for customer satisfaction. This has clearly not gone unnoticed by Ofwat and I suspect that the regulator will be hoping that Scottish & Southern Energy’s success in this area may be the kick that the water companies need to start taking customer service seriously.”