Registration and Switching
Working Group [02]
7th March 2014
Agenda
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Overview of Registration and Switching Strategy paper v1.0
3. Update on consultation
4. Review of redacted Registration and Switching consultation responses
5. Lunch
6. Focussed discussion
•
•
Group 1
o Customer awareness
o Service type switching
o Identification of the contestable market
Group 2
o Ability to switch
o Registration and switching scenarios
o Switching process
7. Group feedback
8. Registration and Switching v2.0 approach and additional content
9. Next steps and future working groups
10. Close
Welcome and Introductions
Introductions
Names
Company
In what capacity they attend
Paul Fry
OpenWater
OpenWater Programme Workstream Leader
Stephen Beddoes
OpenWater
OpenWater Programme PMO
Ian Hopkins
Ofwat
Regulator
Bob Stear
Defra
Government
Christine Blackwell
Consumer Council for Water
Customer representative
Gary Craig
Central Market Agency (Scotland)
Market Operator
Jeremy Downer
Sutton and East Surrey Water
WOC
John Vinson
Bristol Wessex Billing
WOC
Tim Orange
South Staff Waters
WOC
David Seymour
Business Stream
Retailer
Richard Masterson
Severn Trent Costain
Retailer
Katy Spackman
Northumbrian Water
WASC
Kulwinder Johal
Severn Trent Water
WASC
Ned Coleman
South West Water
WASC
Paul Graham
Southern Water
WASC
Julian Tranter
Thames Water
WASC
Jonathan Clarke
Anglian Water
WASC
Darren Thresh
Yorkshire Water
WASC
Paul Gill
Yorkshire Water
WASC
Open Water Vision
The vision of the reform is to drive more sustainable use of
resources and keener pricing and services for customers.
Success Criteria
• All non-household customers in a position to negotiate better targeted, more
efficient and cost-effective services
• Overall, the changes will benefit the majority of non-household customers
• New competitive markets are fair, transparent and efficient
• Seamless experience for customers in England and Scotland
• Reform incentivises innovation
• Upstream reforms drive sustainable and efficient use of resources
Source: Market Reform Programme Framework Document
What we are looking for from you
Understand
Challenge
Endorse
Does it make sense and has everyone taken what
has been written to mean the same thing?
Are there elements of the proposal that you
feel should be challenged or require further
analysis or discussion?
Having understood and discussed the content
are you happy to endorse the proposal?
If not, have we captured your concerns in the
challenge section
Overview of Registration and
Switching v1.0
Company Data
National Data
Identification of the contestable market
Switch requests
Customer
to
Retailer
Retailer
to MO
 
Customer Portfolio
1
3
2
Premises
Premises
2.2
Grouped
Surface
Water
Grouped
Foul
Sewerage

  
  
Grouped Sewerage
Services
2.2.3
Grouped
Raw Water
2.2.1
Grouped
Potable
Water
2.1.2
2.1.1
Grouped Water
Services
2.2.2
2.1
Premises
MO
Updates
Grouped
Trade
Effluent
  
 

Registration and switching scenarios
There are a range of scenarios that the central register will need updating:
• Customer-led switches – arising from an active customer choice
• Assigned switches – arising from the need to assign a service point to a
new retailer due to either exit of a market participant or the service
point no longer being part of the contestable market due to eligibility
(all result in a change in retailer)
• Registration of change in the contestable market – registering a change
in the market due to physical exit of a service point or entry due to
eligibility (this arises from a customer-side change, may not result in
retailer change)
• Correction switches- to correct a wrongly switched or registered
service point
Standard switching process
Customer contacts new retailer and agrees to switch to them, entering into a new contract with them
for their future retail services
New retailer submits customer’s switch request to the market operator for the SP(s) and service(s) it
will be serving, providing a date the switch will take effect
Market operator validates the request against the central register, the new retailer’s licence and
pending switches; accepts the request; and notifies the relevant parties of the request and the
future date the switch will take effect
Cooling off period for new
customer contract
New retailer submits meter
reading to the market
operator within an agreed
window of the date the
switch will take effect
Opportunity for existing retailer
to object to customer’s switch
request due to one of a defined
set of justifiable reasons
Window of opportunity
for new retailer to cancel
switch request
Market operator communicates
meter reading to existing
retailer and wholesaler
Switch takes effect, with
the new retailer now
responsible for the SP in
terms of customer
billing and for meeting
wholesale charges
Existing retailer issues final bill to customer
Customer’s ability to switch
Ability to switch dependent upon:
•
The use and location of the premises
in which the service point is located
(non-households; customers supplied
by the system of a water undertaker
whose area is wholly or mainly in
England)
•
Them being the customer currently
being directly served and hence
billed by the retailer for that service
point (different end-users under bulk
meter or common billing
arrangements are not able to initiate
switch – the customer has the direct
relationship with the retailer)
Location
Use
Customer
Able to switch
Customer market awareness
• Delivering best outcomes for customers will need retailer visibility of the
contestable market and strong customer awareness of their ability to
switch
• Details of eligible premises / service points will be make available to
licensees, but not directly to customers who will need to go via a
licensee. Consideration of third party access to central register
• Further service point data will be available to the existing retailer
• There will be a centralised marketing campaign to raise customer
awareness of ability to switch – complemented by retailers’ own
marketing activities and potential requirements to inform customers in
certain scenarios
• Market operator will host a public record of licensees, potentially
combined with Scotland on Tap website
• Market operator will not provide tariff / service comparison service
Time for a break!
Market Blueprint V1
Consultation Responses
Consultation responses
33 responses received
10 Water and Sewerage companies (all)
7 Water only companies (not DVW or CHL)
2 NAVs /insets(ALB & PWN)
4 other water providers (Scottish Water, Business Stream, Clear Business Water, TWCL)
2 from Gvt/other regulators (EA, CCW)
7 other respondents (Gemserve, Prologis, C & C Group, CGI, Electralink, Fair Water
Connections, WRAS, Sybex)
Over 2000 individual responses to questions
Consultation responses
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Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No comment
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Don't know
No
Yes
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
Don't know
Don't know
Don't know
No
Yes
Don't know
Don't know
Don't know
No comment
No comment
Don't know
No comment
Yes
Yes
Don't know
Don't know
Yes
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
Yes
Yes
No comment
No comment
Yes
Don't know
No comment
No comment
Yes
No comment
Yes
Yes
No comment
Yes
No comment
No comment
Yes
No
No
No
No comment
Don't know
No comment
Yes
No comment
Yes
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
Don't know
No comment
No comment
No comment
Don't know
Don't know
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
Yes
Yes
Don't know
No
No comment
No comment
Don't know
Don't know
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
No comment
Responses by segment
• Responses were generally positive
• Where respondents stated either yes or no, 88% of responses were yes
(although a lot of these are qualified by detailed comments)
• No question got less than 50% positive responses
• Wocs were most positive overall (95% yes on average)
• ‘Other’ respondents were least positive (79%) – perhaps an indication of the
relatively lower level of engagement with this segment
Responses by segment
• Generally more variation within sectors than between sectors, and within
topics than between topics – although:
• Incumbents are more in favour of dispensations from the MO than other
water providers
• Wascs were less in favour of service type switching than any other group
• Wascs were less supportive of the MO collecting and publishing
performance data than any other group
Next steps
• Use of ‘standard‘ and ‘non-standard’ needs to be rationalised and consistent
• Developer services likely to have its own strategy paper
• Trade effluent likely to have its own strategy paper
• Most recommendations had a positive reception, but messaging needs to be
strengthened in v2 to clarify concerns and misunderstanding (e.g. wholesaler
communication with the customer)
• Responses will feed into material for the working groups and drafting of V2
20
Review of Registration and
Switching consultation
responses
% Disagree
70%
15%
% Partial
or Don’t
Know
% Agree
Number of
responses
Consultation Question
Service type switches
RS 4a: Do you agree with the recommendation that the lowest
point at which a switch could be executed should be service type,
with scope for retailers to bundle these by group service (i.e. water
or sewerage services), premises or customer level?
20
15%
% Partial
or Don’t
Know
% Disagree
% Agree
Number of
responses
Consultation Question
Ability to switch
RS 5a: Do you agree with the recommendation that a customer
must be the direct customer of the current retailer for a service
(i.e. being directly served and billed by them) in order to be able to
request a switch for it?
20
90%
5%
5%
% Partial
or Don’t
Know
% Disagree
% Agree
Number of
responses
Consultation Question
Identification of contestable market
RS 6a: Do you agree with the recommendation that all market
participants should have access, through the central register, to
details of which premises and related services make up the
contestable market?
21
95%
5%
-
RS 6b: Do you agree with the recommendation that market
participants should have access, through the central register, to a
range of standing data for each contestable service?
21
90%
-
10%
RS 6c: Do you agree with the recommendation that the market
operator should provide a market data enquiry service to support
market participant access to this data?
20
90%
-
10%
RS 6d: Do you agree with the recommendation that customers
should not have direct access to the central register, but will have
to contact a market participant to do this on their behalf?
20
95%
5%
-
RS 6e: Do you agree with the recommendation that the central
register should be developed through a ‘top down’ approach,
driven by national datasets against which incumbents would be
asked to map service information?
21
85%
5%
10%
RS 6f: Do you agree with the recommendation that the central
register should not include any direct customer data and that this
should be retained in retailers’ customer billing databases?
21
62%
19%
19%
% Disagree
72%
17%
11%
55
96%
-
4%
% Partial
or Don’t
Know
% Agree
18
Number of
responses
Consultation Question
Customer awareness
RS 7a: Do you agree with the recommendation that there should
be a centralised marketing campaign to raise customer awareness
of their potential to switch?
RS 7b: Do you agree with the recommendation that this central
marketing campaign should not be delivered by the market
operator, but rather be enabled by Ofwat and involve a range of
organisations including retailers and customer representative
bodies?
RS 7c: Do you agree with the recommendation that Ofwat should
be responsible for publishing a central public record of currently
licensed retailers operating in the English market?
RS 7d: Do you agree with the recommendation that the market
operator should not provide customers will details of retailers’
tariffs or provide any retailer or tariff comparison service?
% Partial
or Don’t
Know
% Disagree
% Agree
Number of
responses
Consultation Question
Switching process
RS 9a: Do you agree with the recommendation that all standard
communications relating to the execution of a switch should be
directed through the market operator, with minimal opportunity
for direct bilateral dialogue between retailers and/or the
wholesaler in the switch process?
21
95%
5%
-
RS 9b: Do you agree with the recommendation for the high-level
steps that should make up the standard switch process and their
ordering (as set out in figure 3 in section 9.2)?
21
86%
14%
-
RS 9c: Do you agree with the recommendation that a switch
should take effect when all steps in the process have been
completed, but at the latest by a standard set number of business
days after the switch request is submitted to the market operator?
21
86%
14%
-
RS 9d: Do you agree with the recommendation that a customer
should be able to request that their switch takes effect on a date
beyond the standard switch timescale it takes to administer the
switch?
20
90%
5%
5%
RS 9e: Do you agree with the recommendation that there is a case
for minor variations on the standard switching process and
timescale to reflect the different scenarios set out in Figure 2?
21
95%
-
5%
RS 9f: Do you agree with the recommendation that only retailers
should be able to initiate a switch through the market operator,
not customers or third parties?
20
100%
-
-
% Partial
or Don’t
Know
% Disagree
% Agree
Number of
responses
Consultation Question
Switching process
RS 9g: Do you agree with the recommendation that the new
retailer should primarily lead the administration of a switch and
resulting communications with the customer and market
operator? Are there particular circumstances where you think this
would not be appropriate?
21
90%
-
10%
RS 9h: Do you agree with the recommendation that current
retailers should be permitted to undertake sales activity with their
customer after they have submitted a switch request?
18
94%
-
6%
RS 9i: Do you agree with the recommendation that there should a
limited set of circumstances, defined by Ofwat, under which a
current retailer can object to a customer’s switch request, subject
to timely arbitration and escalation process and customer
protections?
20
100%
-
-
RS 9j: Do you agree with the recommendation that a new retailer
should have the opportunity to refuse a switch request?
20
80%
15%
5%
RS 9k: Do you agree with the recommendation that a retailer
should not be able to refuse to continue to serve a customer and
should have enduring responsibility to serve them until such a
point that they choose another retailer?
19
84%
16%
-
Focussed discussion
Names
Company
Group
Paul Fry
OpenWater
Bob Stear
Defra
Christine Blackwell
Consumer Council for Water
Gary Craig
Central Market Agency (Scotland)
John Vinson
Bristol Wessex Billing
David Seymour
Business Stream
Kulwinder Johal
Severn Trent Water
Paul Graham
Southern Water
Julian Tranter
Thames Water
Paul Gill
Yorkshire Water
Ian Hopkins
Ofwat
Stephen Beddoes
OpenWater
Group 1
Jeremy Downer
Sutton and East Surrey Water
Tim Orange
South Staff Waters
o
o
o
Richard Masterson
Severn Trent Costain
Katy Spackman
Northumbrian Water
Ned Coleman
South West Water
Jonathan Clarke
Anglian Water
Darren Thresh
Yorkshire Water
1
Customer awareness
Service type switching
Identification of the contestable market
2
Group 2
o
o
o
Ability to switch
Registration and switching scenarios
Switching process
Breakout sessions
Feedback
Names
Company
Group
Paul Fry
OpenWater
Bob Stear
Defra
Christine Blackwell
Consumer Council for Water
Gary Craig
Central Market Agency (Scotland)
John Vinson
Bristol Wessex Billing
David Seymour
Business Stream
Kulwinder Johal
Severn Trent Water
Paul Graham
Southern Water
Julian Tranter
Thames Water
Paul Gill
Yorkshire Water
Ian Hopkins
Ofwat
Stephen Beddoes
OpenWater
Group 1
Jeremy Doner
Sutton and East Surrey Water
Tim Orange
South Staff Waters
o
o
o
Richard Masterson
Severn Trent Costain
Katy Spackman
Northumbrian Water
Ned Coleman
South West Water
Jonathan Clarke
Anglian Water
Darren Thresh
Yorkshire Water
1
Customer awareness
Service type switching
Identification of the contestable market
2
Group 2
o
o
o
Ability to switch
Registration and switching scenarios
Switching process
Registration and Switching
v2.0 Approach and
additional content
Next steps and future
working groups
Close
Have a safe journey and a good weekend