Wholesale Services to Licensed Providers
The way the water industry is organised in Scotland is changing. The Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 provides a new framework for the industry.
Under the Act:
- Scottish Water has established a separate undertaking to deliver the retail elements of water and sewerage service provision to non-household customers. This is known as Scottish Water Business Stream Ltd and it has been operational since 01 November 2006.
- All water and sewerage service providers are to be licensed and are known as Licensed Providers.
- Retail competition is limited to non-household customers; Scottish Water will continue to provide water and sewerage services to household customers directly.
The Useful Links page in this section also provides access to the websites of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and the Scottish Government, so you can keep up to date with policy developments and decisions on the market framework by accessing these sites.
Operational Code
There are new rules governing the way that Scottish Water provides services to Licensed Providers. These arrangements are set out in the Operational Code, which defines the way in which Scottish Water must provide services e.g. new connections, metering services, trade effluent and water byelaws, amongst others.
The latest version of the Operational Code was published by Scottish Water on 1 June 2008 and came into effect on this date. Scottish Water is responsible for maintaining the Operational Code and providing up to date copies to interested parties when requested.Click here to download the Operational Code (pdf).
A history of changes made to the Operational Code to date, is available on the website of the Central Market Agency at www.cmascotland.co.uk.
Service Requests from Licensed Providers
In line with the framework defined in the Operational Code, Licensed Providers will request certain services from Scottish Water. To facilitate this process a set of application forms have been developed to allow services to be commissioned and to allow the exchange of appropriate information. These forms are set out in Part 2 of the appendix to the Operational Code. Licensed Providers can access the forms through the Licensed Provider Portal.
Wholesale Charges Scheme
The Wholesale Charges Scheme is updated on an annual basis and is approved for publication by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. The document contains details of the charges which Scottish Water will make to Licensed Providers in relation to the supply of water and sewerage services. The Water Industry Commission for Scotland has approved Scottish Water's Wholesale Charges Scheme for the period, 01 April 2008 until 31 March 2009. A copy can be downloaded here (pdf).
