Cost management firm Great Annual Savings Group (GAS) is predicting that businesses could shave thousands of pounds off their utility bills – and urging businesses to start planning now for the most radical changes in the water industry for a generation with the opening of the retail market to competition in April next year.

Bradley Groves, chief executive and chairman of Great Annual Savings Group, said:

 “Deregulation will have a significant impact on the business community. Now is the perfect time for companies to start carrying out audits of their water consumption so that they’re in a position to take advantage of the best deals when they come available. Some companies mistakenly think that they need to wait until next April but by then some of the best deals will have been advertised and snapped up.”    

GAS, which helps businesses find ways of reducing their running costs, said the move would provide firms with the ideal opportunity to save significant amounts of money, although they needed to start preparing for the changes now.

Mr Groves continued:

“Deregulation of the water industry presents a fresh opportunity for companies to make significant savings when it comes to managing their utility costs. We’ve seen how it has worked effectively in Scotland and there’s no reason why it can’t work here.”

“In the post-deregulation era, companies that operate in multiple locations can use just one supplier rather than several.”

“Also there’s more incentive for suppliers to provide a better service because they know that customers can switch supplier at the drop of a hat. Water companies will be compelled to make customer care a priority and provide best-fit solutions for all of their users. Failure to do so will inevitably result in lost customers and revenue to the competition.”

GAS specialises in negotiating the best possible tariff on water rates and a range of other variable running costs, including telecoms, energy management, office equipment, private healthcare and insurance. So far this year the company has helped firms make millions of pounds of collective savings on energy bills, where the market already works in a deregulated way – according to GAS,  this gives some indication of the opportunity about to present itself in England’s deregulated water market.

In partnership with BQ magazine, Great Annual Savings Group (GAS) is hosting a special event about the deregulation of the water industry in England on Thursday, October 27 at the Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham.

Entitled “Water great way to save money: what businesses need to know about water industry deregulation”, the event will feature keynote speeches from senior experts in the water industry. Guests are invited to arrive at 8.30am for a 9.00am start. The event will last around an hour, with an additional 30 minutes of networking, and will finish at 10:30am.