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Ofwat Vacant Premises Guidance & Deferral of Estimated Billing

Ofwat has recently announced that business premises that are closed due to the COVID–19 Pandemic can be treated as vacant by their water retailer. This means that the retailer will be able to only bill for standing charges and not make an estimation of consumption during the current lockdown. The effective date of this scheme has been backdated to 16th March 2020 and the exemption will run for an initial two months but may be extended by Ofwat if the current disruption continues.

This move will enable impacted organisations to ease their cash flow challenges at this difficult time. Some clients may already have been contacted by their water retailer to advise them of this new option. If this is not the case, please talk to your Inenco Account Manager as we may be able to advise you on how to make the appropriate request to the retailer.

It will be important to provide clear evidence of the impact on your organisation and “proof of vacancy” to your water retailer. The guidance from OFWAT states:

“Proof of vacancy may include, for example, clear and convincing evidence that the customer’s business was the type of business that was ordered to close from 23 March 2020 and that the business is not still operating in a material capacity for example by providing a takeaway service, a screenshot of the relevant customer’s website confirming closure, photographic evidence that confirms premises are closed, meter readings, a note of conversations or emails / letters from customers confirming that closure.”

The full detail of the Ofwat change proposal is also available here

Once activity resumes and a meter reading is taken any usage during the closure will be billed but in most instances that is likely to be minimal and will certainly help to retain cash in the short term.

If you have any further questions please do contact us via askusaquestion@inenco.com

Sustainable Energy First, has acquired Inenco.


The acquisition brings together two businesses with one common objective;
to make truly renewable
energy more accessible to businesses of all sizes helping them achieve their Net Zero targets.

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