South East Water is planning to introduce a new charging structure for businesses which use a lot of water.

The proposed new tariff – called a falling block tariff – is intended for retailers which use more than 10,000 cubic meters of water per year. It will replace the Intersaver, Saver and Super Economy tariff, which is currently used by about 450 South East Water customers.

Announcing the new structure, the water company said the falling block tariff has been designed to limit any customer bill impact in preparation for the opening for the non-household market in April 2017.

It will have two components – a standing charge and a volumetric charge which decreases as usage increases.

The benefits include:

• Removing the need for customers to forecast their annual consumption
• A self-regulating tariff which does not need manual assessment
• Simpler to understand
• Less administration for retailers and customers.

South East Water said it has already discussed the proposal with the Consumer Council for Water and representatives of its Customer Panel, and highlighted the potential change with Market Operator Services Limited.

Once specific customer engagement has been completed, South East Water’s Board will determine if the new block tariff should be implements as part of its approval process for publishing indicative wholesale charges in October.