Yorkshire Water poised to transfer non-household retail customers to Three Sixty

Yorkshire Water has recently announced plans to transfer all non-household retail customers to sister company Three Sixty when the new retail market opens in April 2017.

It is estimated that 130,000 Yorkshire Water customers will be transferred to Three Sixty when the market opens. Yorkshire Water will, however, remain responsible for water and waste treatments, as well as network functions, across Yorkshire and continue to service 2.2 million households.

In a statement, Richard Flint, chief executive of Yorkshire Water and Kelda Group, said: “Yorkshire Water believes the interests of its non-household customers in the new competitive retail market can best be served by transferring provision of their retail services to Yorkshire Water’s sister company Three Sixty.

“We are confident the great service and value that customers of Yorkshire Water have come to expect will continue to be delivered and improved upon by this arrangement. Three Sixty have already demonstrated their customer service credentials by providing retail services under contract to all of Yorkshire Water’s business customers since April 2016.”

Three Sixty was formed to unite Yorkshire Water’s existing retail division with its out-of-area retail business, KWS Retail. Like Yorkshire Water, Three Sixty remains part of the Kelda Group and has been established to meet the specific needs of business customers ahead of full competition in the water retail market in 2017. It will provide a single nationwide retail service to all customers.

Robert Marrill, managing director of Three Sixty, said: “We are delighted Yorkshire Water has selected Three Sixty as their retailer of choice for the Yorkshire region’s non household customers. Our business is centred on adding value and helping businesses make water work for them, as seamlessly and cost effectively as possible.”

In developing Three Sixty, we have taken the attributes that made Yorkshire Water’s non-household water business work well for its customers and applied them to the new company, putting the customer’s needs at the heart of everything we do. Like Yorkshire Water, Three Sixty will be easy and straight forward to work with and we will ensure a seamless and smooth transition for customers.”

Further commenting on the changes, Richard Flint added: “We recognised that a fresh approach was needed to build on past successes and deliver the needs of business customers in a totally new retail water market. This is what we have with the transfer of these activities to Three Sixty; a business specifically developed to meet the needs of business customers nationwide, but created from the very foundation and roots of the Kelda Group.

“The changes in the water market provide Three Sixty with the opportunity to become a truly innovative water retailer, and allow Yorkshire Water to focus on delivering our strategic business objectives and successful outcomes around the 26 performance commitments we have made to our customers.”

At present, Yorkshire Water’s business customers do not need to take any action. The company will communicate further information in the coming months ahead of the market opening.

More information about this development can be found on the services section of the Yorkshire Water site.