Ofwat’s chief executive believes the water sector, and other utilities, are ‘ripe for a revolution’ as she predicts a radical shake-up in how customers buy utilities and home services.
Speaking at the Water 2017 conference, Ofwat’s outgoing Chief Executive, Cathryn Ross, said that in the coming years, customers would no longer have multiple providers for home services and utilities. Instead, they would work with just one company which would take care of all the administration and much of the decision making when it comes to their bills and contracts for water, energy, broadband, home insurance and home emergency cover.
She also raised the interesting possibility that data – not only at customer interfaces but also potentially about network management - could become as important an asset for service providers as,pipes and wires.
In a speech looking ahead to the next price review period, which runs from 2020-2025, Ross predicts this profound change will be shaped by specialist companies emerging and using leading edge data analysis to better understand customers’ needs and priorities and find the best combination of services at the right price.
Cathryn Ross said:
“Imagine a world in which you don’t even know who your supplier of water and waste water services is, or who supplies your energy, or broadband, or maybe even your home insurance and emergency cover. Because you have a contract with an intermediary who takes care of all that for you.
“You may well have given them the ability to turn some bits of your home infrastructure on and off to manage demand and reduce costs, because this will enable you to get a better deal.
“To my mind this means the water sector, indeed all utilities, are ripe for a revolution.”
Customers increasingly put a premium on peace of mind and convenience. This societal change, alongside improvements in technology and skills to unlock the power of data, will lead to the emergence of companies who will meet customers’ needs in a way current providers are not doing and herald a fundamental, cross-sector shake-up.
If these radical changes emerge, Cathryn Ross warned regulators they will need to change radically, too.
In particular, she challenged regulators “to stop thinking in our silos about water bill payers, energy bill payers, telecoms bill payers, insurance customers and start thinking about ‘home services’ customers. Or better still human beings, with busy lives and competing demands on their money and time.”
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
Owen Mace has taken over as Director of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Plastic Pipes Group on the retirement of Caroline Ayres. He was previously Standards and Technical Manager for the group.
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.