Sefton Council has applied to Ofwat for water and sewerage self-supply licenses if the application is granted the local authority will be able to provide retail services to itself and associated persons.
Sefton Council is a local authority area in the north west of England and part of the Merseyside / Liverpool City Region area. The council has a team that manages gas, electricity and water utility services for all council buildings, all schools in its area (including Academies) as well as local care providers.
Following an options appraisal to assess how to enter the market, it was concluded that the Council could both maximise savings as well as access the services it sought if it obtained a retail licence for water and sewerage services limited to selfsupply.
Sefton Council is responsible for ensuring all its sites have access to water – the sites range from leisure centres with swimming pools, allotments, parks, and golf courses needing irrigation, and schools and offices requiring more typical freshwater provision.
The business case submitted to the water regulator says that self-supply for Sefton Council provides it with further opportunity to build on the works already undertaken following its Carbon Management Plan. Implemented in 2010, the plan introduced a revised communication strategy to target schools on raising their awareness to behavioural and physical change via energy and water audits.
The business case document published by Ofwat says:
“Sefton Council’s ambition of becoming a self-supply licensee is driven by its plans to improve and better control the chargeable variables that make up its wholesale charges.”
The council has entered a partnership agreement with Waterscan Ltd to take on the role and responsibilities for the retail functions including meter reading, market transactions, wholesaler management and finding further water efficiency savings.
Waterscan will act as the managing agent for Sefton Council and provide technical support and services. Sefton Council will build on its key relationships with wholesalers and pay its water and sewerage charges. The partnership will take the form of a contractual agreement between the parties which has been submitted as part of the licence process.
Deadline to make representations or objections to Ofwat is 22 May 2020 – click here to download the business case document.
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