If you’ve recently tried to set up a business water account but your property can’t be identified, it’s possible the premises is a ‘gap in the market’, sometimes referred to within the industry as a ‘gap site’. This means the property hasn’t been recognised as part of the non-household market. This could be why you haven’t received any water bills since you moved into the property.
Your business premises could be a gap site for a few reasons:
- The supply has been newly installed and connected to the water network but hasn’t been assigned a Supply Point Identifier (SPID) yet.
- Your property has been split or has merged with another property and the new or updated meter hasn’t been registered within the market with a SPID.
- Your premises has been overlooked due to several other supplies being connected to one overall property, such as an office building or floor within an office block.
- The supply has been connected to the network without the network being notified.
How gap sites affect businesses
You may be unaware that your business supply isn’t recognised as part of the non-household market, as the supply itself will not be affected, however it will affect the account setup process. If we can’t locate the supply, we won’t be able to set up a water or sewerage account for you, and neither will any other retailer in the market. Therefore if you have an issue with supply it makes it much more difficult for us to help and support you.
Next steps if your property is a gap site
Step 1 – Investigations: If we think a property might be a gap site, we’ll carry out a couple of checks to confirm this is the case.
If, after our investigations, we discover:
- The address is slightly incorrect
- The supply is with a different retailer
- We have an incorrect meter serial number
this would mean it’s possible that your premises isn’t a gap site.
Step 2 – Working with your Wholesaler: If, after completing these checks, we believe that the supply is a gap site, we’ll raise a form on your behalf with the relevant Wholesaler. Once the Wholesaler receives the form, they’ll carry out their own investigations to determine whether a SPID does need to be created. If this is the case, we’ll let you know when the process is complete and we’ll be able to get you set up with an account.
