The Commercial Services arm of Thames Water is aiming to double its existing business customer base in Scotland by offering discounts of up to 20% on charges made by incumbent supplier Business Stream for its water and wastewater services.

Thames Water Commercial Services (TWCS) said it has saved its Scottish customers half a million pounds since entering the market 18 months ago – the company currently has a total of 600 Scottish customer sites on its books. Since its launch in September 2013, TWCS has attracted over 130 customers who have enjoyed average savings of between 10-15% on their annual water spend through switching supplier,  with some of its clients saving as much as 20%.

Alan Munro, who heads up Thames’ recently reinforced Scottish team, said:

“Scotland is the first country in the world which has deregulated its water market. Any business here can switch provider yet, due to a lack of awareness, a high percentage still haven’t switched.

“The sector is currently dominated  by Scottish Water subsidiary Business Stream, but this is simply because many businesses remain unaware they can switch and consequently benefit from the potential cost saving and other benefits of moving to another supplier.

“With potential cost savings of up to 20%, Scottish firms must take action.”

Since 2008, when the retail market was opened to competition in Scotland, around 130,000 non-household customers in Scotland have been able to choose who can supply their water and wastewater services. England will see a similar competitive water retail market opening in 2017.

In October last year, Munro recruited four new members to the team in an aggressive bid to build on a successful first 12 months and improve the quality of services for business customers. TWCS is now aiming to double the size of its existing customer base which spans banking, finance, hotels, leisure, commercial, education and retail sectors.

He continued:

“The fact that customers have a choice allows us to offer lower prices and a personal service that not only has a direct effect on their finances, but can increase water efficiency, maintaining a decrease in bills over a long period of time.

“We have many services and we let customers choose which of these they wish to proceed with, tailoring packages to suit their business needs.

“Every business is different and I have confidence in our team to guide and assist clients in choosing packages, which will benefit them long term and reduce their carbon footprint.”

“Over the last 18 months we have proved we can save businesses significant amounts of money. Now we want to continue that work and by raising awareness we are confident we can help more firms save by switching their water supplier.”

TWCS said companies signing up to its services can benefit from flexible billing, advice on tariff optimisation, a tailored approach to key account management, advice on managing water efficiently, and a commitment to helping meet sustainability and environmental targets and commitments.