Retail performance

We provide business customers with information on water retail service providers' performance, including customer complaints. We collect this information from customer complaints made directly to providers and those reported to us.

How we measure performance

We use two complaint sources to gain insight into the performance of companies;

  • complaints received directly by retailers; and
  • complaints raised directly to CCW about companies.

In 2023-24, we’ve changed how we report complaints to retailers. Before, we only counted written complaints. Now, starting from April 2023, we’re including all types of complaints—like phone calls, social media messages, web chats, texts, and in-person visits.

To make sure complaints are fair for all retailers, we use something called a Supply Point ID (SPID). The measure we use to do this is ‘complaints per 10,000 supply points’. For example:

  • Total complaints: 600
  • Total supply points: 4,000,000
  • Complaints per 10,000 supply points = 600/4,000,000 x 10,000 = 1.5

How we compare performance

We recognise that for smaller retailers, each complaint can make performance appear disproportionately poor. We categorise retailers based upon their size in the following way;

  • smaller retailers – less than 5,000 supply points; and
  • larger retailers – more than 5,000 supply points.

In this industry, almost 99% of it is controlled by big retailers. Complaints about smaller retailers are quite rare, with only five reported to CCW in 2023-24. Because of this, we handle larger retailers separately from the smaller ones. We use the median and quartiles as our main ways to understand trends among the big retailers. When it comes to the smaller retailers, we rely more on detailed explanations and stories to analyse what’s happening.

We measure performance by complaints per 10,000 SPIDs and colour code them as follows:

How we measure
Good
Better than median*
Worse than median*
Poor

*Median – a mid-point of the data set, or a middle value in the list of numbers that are arranged by highest to lowest.

Larger retailer’s performance in 2024-25 (year to date)

Company Number of SPIDs Total complaints per 10,000 SPIDs Complaints to CCW per 10,000 SPIDs
ADSM 11947 0.0 0.8
Business Stream 388671 40.5 3.4
Castle Water 470137 59.9 7.9
Clear Business Water 26455 102.1 5.3
Dŵr Cymru** 195052 30.1 0.1
Everflow 16807 14.0 2.1
First Business Water 11954 5.0 0.0
Hafren Dyfrdwy** 10006 7.0 0.0
SES Business Water 37081 121.4 11.3
Smarta Water 6074 0.0 1.6
Source for Business 152979 11.7 2.4
Water Plus 703921 45.8 3.6
Water2Business 178370 10.5 0.2
Wave 391023 22.8 2.1

**Only business customers in Wales who use 50 megalitres of water per year are allowed to access the retail market and choose their water retailer. The above numbers for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy relates to the total number of SPIDs and not just those in the open retail market. The majority of business customers in Wales continue to receive retail services from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water or Hafren Dyfrdwy.

Small retailers’ performance in 2024-25 (year to date)

We’re unable to colour code small retailers’ performance due to small number of complaints.

Company Number of SPIDs Complaints to retailer Complaints to CCW
ConservAqua 3,451 Total complaints: 7

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 20.3

Total complaints: 1

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 2.9

The Water Retail Company 1,539 Total complaints: 0

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 0.0

Total complaints: 0

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 0.0

Veolia Retail 660 Total complaints: 0

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 0.0

Total complaints: 0

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 0.0

Yu Water 1,164 Total complaints: 3

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 25.8

Total complaints: 0

Complaints per 10,000 supply points: 0.0

Complaint trend

Below, you’ll find graphs that track how retailer complaint trends changed over time. One graph shows complaints received by retailers per 10,000 supply points, while the other illustrates complaints reported directly to CCW per 10,000 supply points.

We can’t show complaint trends for small retailers, because we received very few complaints from them.

Key

blue solid line Retailer performance
red dotted line Poor – if retailer performance is above line
black dotted line Median* performance
green dotted line Good – if retailer performance is below line

*Median – a mid-point of the data set, or a middle value in the list of numbers that are arranged by highest to lowest.

ADSM


Business Stream


Castle Water


Clear Business Water


Everflow


First Business Water


SES Business Water


Smarta Water


Source for Business


Water Plus


Water2Business


Wave