Compare Business Water Prices: A Simple Guide to Water Market Reform and Switching Suppliers

Understanding the Deregulated Water Market

Before we discuss how to compare business water prices, it’s important to understand the deregulated water market. The 2017 Water Bill Reforms created a deregulated water market for non-household customers in England. This means businesses, charities, and public sector organisations can now choose their water retailer in the same way they choose their energy supplier.

The wholesale side of the industry (pipes, treatment, and infrastructure) remains regulated and unchanged, but retailers now compete on:

• Billing and account management
• Customer service and response times
• Meter reading and data insights
• Water efficiency support

This competition gives businesses more leverage. Instead of being locked into a regional monopoly, you can compare business water prices and offers and select the retailer that best fits your organisation’s needs.

How to Compare Business Water Prices

Switching water retailers isn’t complicated, but a structured approach helps you find the best deal. The process usually involves:

1. Reviewing your current contract and bills: Identify your current rates, standing charges, and consumption patterns. Regular checks are part of good utility management.
2. Requesting multiple quotes: Licensed retailers can provide tailored offers. Look not only at headline unit rates, but also at billing transparency and account support.
3. Evaluating service quality: Lower rates are meaningless if billing errors or poor customer service increase admin time. Multi-site organisations often benefit from consolidated billing across all sites.
4. Switching retailers: Once you’ve signed a contract, the new retailer usually takes over within 20 working days, with no interruption to supply.

Working with utility consultants can make this process faster and more effective. At Tritility, we compare business water prices and benchmark offers across the market, negotiate on your behalf, and ensure billing accuracy to prevent overpayments, freeing you from unnecessary admin.

Self-Supply: The Alternative Option

For very large water users, self-supply is an alternative to retail competition. This involves applying directly to Ofwat for a licence to manage your own retail services.

Self-supply can cut out the retailer’s margin and give businesses direct control over billing, data and efficiency measures. But it comes with a price. Securing a licence from Ofwat involves upfront costs, ongoing compliance, and the need for in-house resources to manage what a retailer would normally handle. For most organisations, particularly those outside of the very largest water users, the additional admin outweighs the savings.

Rebates and Efficiency in Practice

One client in the food production sector was spending significantly more on water than expected and struggling with the admin of unaligned contracts across multiple sites.

Our consultants identified that the business was being wrongly charged for highways and drainage surface water, and launched an overcharging claim on their behalf. We also consolidated their contracts, moved them off expensive out-of-contract rates, and placed them on a more cost-effective tariff.

The result was a £148,000 rebate, alongside long-term efficiencies that reduced admin and improved cost control. It’s a clear demonstration of how, when an experienced team compare business water prices and takes a strategic approach, they can deliver substantial returns.

Why Now is the Right Time

For many energy-intensive businesses, water has traditionally been a lower priority than electricity or gas. But with rising costs and sustainability targets front of mind, water procurement now deserves a place alongside energy in your wider utility management strategy.

If you compare business water prices by working with experienced utility consultants, and by embedding procurement into your utility management solutions, organisations can unlock savings, improve service, and future-proof their operations.

Conclusion

The deregulated water market has been in place for nearly a decade, but too many businesses are still missing out on the benefits. By reviewing your contracts, comparing offers, and seeking expert support, you can reduce your business energy bills, simplify admin, and support your sustainability goals.

At Tritility, we make business energy and water procurement simple. From managing quotes to securing rebates, our utility management team ensures you get the best possible value while freeing your time to focus on running your business.

If you’d like to compare business water prices and explore how Tritility can support you, contact our team today, or simply get a quote.