Customers should be seen as active participants in the water sector, not passive recipients, according to Ofwat Chief Executive, Cathryn Ross.

Speaking to water company senior executives at an event in London, Cathryn Ross called on water companies to think differently and more radically about how they view customers. Instead of seeing them as recipients of services, the sector should see customers as participants, who can identify issues and opportunities and help find ways to do things better, such as making improvements to the local environment, saving water or improving customer service.

To coincide with the event, Ofwat has also commissioned and published a report looking at best practice in other sectors and other countries.

Ofwat wants the report and event to help water companies identify the possibilities for them and consider what they need do to bring customers into their thinking as active participants ahead of the business planning stage of PR19.

The report says the water sector needs to make the leap from seeing customers as passive recipients of a service to being active agents and outlines a range of options and routes to engaging them as “active agents in the water experience”.  Suggestions as to how customers can be given more choice over the product and the services they receive and more control include:

• Rainwater harvesting
• Choosing different water quality for different purposes
• The use of permeable paving
• Single points of control over all home services
• The introduction of new, customer-focused technologies, such as intuitive conversational artificial intelligence
• Engaging customers in identifying new water services that would improve their lives at home and at work (and also create new revenue streams)
• Giving customers more options for customer service engagement – such as phone, text, email, tweet and live chat
• The ability to join or set up a local community group to improve the local water environment
• Ring-fencing budget for communities to propose projects and initiatives linked to water services -  both the United States and Canada run high-profile participatory budget projects in communities nationwide.
• Empowering local businesses to collaborate on sustainability and sustainable water issues

The report cites a range of interesting examples from both the water sectors and others, including Veolia’s current development of ‘hypervision centres’ based on the principle of the smart city which brings together customer participation, the Internet of Things and big data for water management in real time.

The Ofwat Chief Executive commented:

“Water companies made great strides at PR14 in talking directly to more than 250,000 customers. As a result companies are now more focused on delivering what people need and want.

“We want to see engagement with customers taken to the next level. How can companies work with customers and use their knowledge, skills and creativity to help find ways to innovate?

“This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky theory, it is established business practice that helps unlock value and build trust. We want to see water companies not only catch-up – but begin to lead the way. Doing so can help to deliver great customer service and resilient supply at a price all can afford.”

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