You could be overpaying for your water !!

Water rarely makes the board agenda. It’s predictable, quiet, and usually treated as “just the price you pay.” But that assumption is quietly costing UK organisations millions.

At The Utilities Group, we see this every day. Since market deregulation in England in 2017, organisations have been free to choose their retailer – yet Ofwat’s 2025 report still finds systemic billing errors, poor market data, and widespread overcharging. For multi-site estates, uncovering five years of mistakes in a single review is now routine. With the 2026 charging year approaching, this is the moment to put water on the agenda and get the data right.

## The Data Problem: Why Billing Errors Persist

The fundamental issue hasn’t gone away: the central market database (CMOS) still contains outdated or incomplete supply data. That single weakness drives:

- Incorrect tariffs

- Overstated consumption

- Duplicate charges

- Wrong meter configurations

- Surface water drainage errors

Ofwat’s 2024–25 State of the Market review again confirms that the market is still not delivering “the level of accuracy and customer benefit originally expected” (https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated-companies/markets/business-retail-market/business-retail-market-update-2023-24/).

In practice, many organisations are simply being billed on the wrong information. Our role at The Utilities Group is to forensically trace those errors back to their source and correct the underlying data, not just the latest invoice.

## The 2026 Regulatory Shift: More Scrutiny, More Accountability

Water may not be regulated like electricity and gas procurement, but the environment your organisation operates in is tightening:

- Rising environmental reporting requirements

- Stronger expectations around water stewardship

- Greater scrutiny of consumption in high-use sectors

- Increasing pressure on sustainability claims

A water review with The Utilities Group helps you stay ahead of this shift. We work alongside your in‑house finance, estates, and sustainability teams to ensure your data is accurate, your charges reflect actual usage, and reduction opportunities are visible, evidenced, and reportable.

## What a Water Review with The Utilities Group Actually Covers

A credible water audit is not a quick spreadsheet check. Our reviews are built around forensic analysis, market data correction, and long-term governance.

**Billing Accuracy**

We interrogate:

- Tariffs and charges

- Alignment with wholesaler arrangements

- Historic bills across multiple years

- Meter allocations and asset mapping

- Rateable value data and its impact on charging

**Consumption Analysis**

We combine billing, meter, and operational data to identify:

- Leaks and abnormal consumption

- Night-flow anomalies

- Incorrect or implausible meter reads

- Seasonal and operational patterns that don’t align with the bills

**Surface Water Drainage Errors**

We test:

- How your estate is recorded centrally

- Whether drainage categories and charging assumptions are correct

This is one of the UK’s most common hidden overcharges and frequently leads to multi‑year refunds when the data is properly challenged and corrected.

**Trade Effluent**

We review:

- How the nature and volume of discharge are recorded and charged

- Whether the profile used in the market accurately reflects your actual processes

**Historic Rebates**

Where errors are proven, we:

- Quantify recoverable value

- Pursue up to six years of overcharging in line with statute

- Provide full audit trails that stand up to internal and external scrutiny

**Future Strategy and Governance**

We don’t just fix the past. We:

- Safeguard the next contract cycle from repeat errors

- Put governance and monitoring in place so your internal teams can maintain accuracy

- Ensure changes are reflected in the central market systems, not just on a single bill

Throughout, The Utilities Group remains independent of any retailer or wholesaler. Our only interest is that your organisation is billed correctly and has robust, defensible water data.

## How Much Can Businesses Save?

Savings vary by sector and footprint, but the pattern is consistent:

- Most multi-site organisations are overpaying in some form

- Surface water drainage reviews alone often unlock substantial, previously overlooked refunds

- Leak detection and consumption optimisation can materially reduce annual spend

Ofwat’s own monitoring shows that where robust reviews are undertaken, incorrect charges are identified with striking regularity. Our work is to systemise that process – bringing structure, evidence, and governance to your internal teams.

## Water Costs Will Rise – Even if Consumption Doesn’t

Wholesalers across England are expected to increase charges again in 2026, driven by:

- Inflation

- Infrastructure investment

- Environmental compliance pressures

- Population-driven demand growth

A review with The Utilities Group does more than reclaim historic overpayments. By correcting the central data and clarifying your true usage profile, we help you prepare for new charging structures and avoid compounding errors as prices rise.

## Why Businesses Delay – and Why They Shouldn’t

We regularly hear the same concerns from senior teams:

- “Water is small compared to energy.”

- “It’s too complex and fragmented.”

- “We don’t see obvious signs we’re overpaying.”

- “We don’t have capacity to take this on.”

Our approach is designed around those realities. Reviews are:

- Low-friction for your internal teams

- Run with minimal demand on operational resource

- Structured to integrate with existing finance, estates, and sustainability processes

We don’t replace your teams; we equip them with the evidence, market insight, and corrected data they need to manage water with the same discipline as other major cost lines. The fixes are not speculative – they are documented, measurable, and immediately tangible.

## Water Efficiency: Where Cost Meets ESG

Water now sits firmly within 2025–26 sustainability and reporting frameworks, including:

- SECR

- UK Green Taxonomy

- Corporate sustainability reporting

- Operational efficiency targets

- Net-zero plans (where water is often under‑represented in Scope 3)

By tightening billing accuracy and reducing consumption, you are:

- Improving resilience

- Reducing environmental impact

- Strengthening the quality and credibility of your sustainability reporting

Our reviews are structured to give your ESG and sustainability leads the kind of auditable, defensible data they need for internal reporting, assurance, and disclosure.

## What Happens After a Review with The Utilities Group?

Once errors and inefficiencies are identified, we don’t stop at a report. We:

- Quantify and substantiate rebates

- Challenge retailers and wholesalers based on evidence, not opinion

- Secure corrections within core market data systems, not just on local accounts

- Ensure future bills are aligned to actual usage and the corrected estate footprint

- Design ongoing monitoring so your in‑house teams can keep control going forward

The result is not only lower costs, but better data, stronger governance, and a more robust compliance position as you head into the 2026 charging year.

Many UK organisations have been overpaying for water – quietly and consistently – for years. A Water Review with The Utilities Group identifies those errors, reduces unnecessary consumption, and strengthens your environmental reporting and governance.

If you’d like to understand whether your organisation is one of them, **book a water review with The Utilities Group** or **speak to our team** about your current portfolio and objectives.

0151 5416767 or hello@utilitiesgroup.co.uk