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Sensitive customers

Following the introduction of competition in the non-household market, it is important that UUW and Retailers have a clear understanding about which premises are occupied by Sensitive Customers. Process E1 describes how the Retailer and UUW shall work together to keep the record of which Eligible Premises are occupied by Sensitive Customers complete and up-to-date in accordance with the Market Terms.

UUW may have Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangements in place for specific Supply Points at Eligible Premises in order to help meet its statutory or other regulatory obligations in the event of a drinking water quality incident, flooding or other event which poses a threat to public health such as environmental pollution.

If UUW needs additional information about any particular Sensitive Customer (or about any particular Eligible Premises not occupied by a Sensitive Customer), for example twenty-four (24) hour on site contact information, it shall establish a Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangement for that Eligible Premises.

As the Wholesaler, UUW do not have access to NHH customer data. Therefore, the Retailer shall keep the information held by the Market Operator on which Eligible Premises are occupied by Sensitive Customers up-to-date by notifying the Market Operator in accordance with the Market Terms and shall so do within two (2) Business Days of becoming aware of any change or during the course of applying for a new connection

The Retailer shall enable UUW to prepare or maintain the Site Specific Arrangement by providing appropriate up to date contact details for its NHH customer along with any other information or assistance reasonable requested by UU. In particular, if requested by UUW, the Retailer shall seek to arrange any meeting between the Retailer, its Non-Household Customer and UUW in relation to the Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangement.

If UUW receives a notification that the Retailer has asked the Market Operator to add or remove a Sensitive Customer flag from any of the Eligible Premises within the UUW area, the Wholesaler may query that change with the Retailer and the Retailer shall respond to any query which the Wholesaler raises.

  • Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangements are generally for eligible premises where there is a permanent duty of care to the general public or a site which could cause risk during an unplanned water or waste incident to the public at large. 

    Those Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangements may mean that UUW needs to hold or have access to up-to-date information about an Eligible Premises, for example twenty-four (24) hour on-site contact details. The Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangements may also require the Retailer to take certain steps to support communication with its Non-Household Customer in the event of an unplanned change to Water Services and/or Sewerage Services.

    PHSSA Criteria

    Tier one (full plan required) High dependency / vulnerable residential population including where relocation is highly problematic.
    • Hospitals
    • Prisons
    Tier two (emergency contact info required) Vulnerable residential population
    • Residential care homes (elderly, infirm, hospices etc.)
    Tier three (emergency contact info required) Non-residential but unacceptable societal impact
    • Educational establishments 
    • NHS Walk-in centres 
    • Day-care facilities 
    • Critical national or local infrastructure (as defined by Government or Local Resilience Forums during planning or response); i.e. establishments which, if they close will have an immediate detrimental effect on civil society or negatively affect a wider incident response (e.g. communications; energy; food production or distribution; emergency services; transport hubs).
    Tier four (emergency contact info required) Agricultural/economic hardship *
    • Premises with livestock, without access to suitable environmental water, where relocation is highly problematic 
    • Other commercial enterprises where available alternative supplies (bottled water, dedicated static tank etc. can maintain their operations)
    *If the higher tier needs have been satisfied, resource permitting, tankered water provision (pumped into private network) may be considered.

     

  • UUW may also have in place Non-Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangements for certain Non-Household Customers, for example if a Non-Household Customer carries out business processes at an Eligible Premises which may be particularly sensitive to changes in the water supply (for example composition or pressure). If the Wholesaler does have any such arrangements in place, this process shall be applied in the same way as for Public Health Related Site Specific Arrangements.

    The Retailer shall inform UUW of any Eligible Premises that meet the above criteria via the template (PDF 322 KB opens in a new window). It is important to note that a NPHSSA does not guarantee the water quality the NHH customer receives but rather acknowledges the sensitivity to change by giving advance warning of change on a best endeavours basis.

    NPHSSA Criteria

    Major food & drink manufacturers Large scale industrial premises which manufacture food & drink
    Major pharmaceutical manufacturer Major pharmaceutical manufacturers where water is used as a component of product for consumption
    Major manufacturers with critical Water Quality sensitivityMajor industrial production processes where a change in water quality will significantly impact on the customers manufacturing process Major industrial production processes where a change in water quality will significantly impact on the customers manufacturing process

     

Important Notice

Cold Weather

Due to the freezing weather conditions across the region a number of our customers are experiencing no water or reduced pressure, caused by frozen pipes in their home. There are a few things you can do to check if you have frozen pipes. If you are unable to complete these checks please reach out to your family, friends or neighbours to see if they can help:

  1. If there are no local issues check with your neighbours. If they have water, you may have a frozen pipe in your property.
  2. Here’s what to do. Turn off your stop tap by turning it clockwise, it’s usually found under your kitchen sink, but can be in your garage or cellar.
  3. Once you’ve turned your stop tap off, turn on your cold tap in the kitchen
  4. If you have no water, this could be due to a frozen pipe somewhere in your home. This may be the pipe which comes into your home near to where your stop tap is located.
  5. Carefully thaw the pipe using a warm towel, or if safe to do so a hairdryer in short bursts, ensuring you keep well away from water. If you can get water from a neighbour you could try a hot water bottle too. This could take a while, depending on how frozen and big your pipes are.
  6. Switch your stop tap back on to see if the water is running.

You can find more information at www.unitedutilities.com/frozenpipes.

If you have followed all of the advice provided and still want to talk to us, please give us a call. As we are experiencing really high call volumes at the moment, please bear with us as wait times will be longer than usual. 

Due to the freezing weather conditions across the region a number of our customers are experiencing no water or reduced pressure, caused by frozen pipes in their home. For more help and advice if you have a frozen pipe head to www.unitedutilities.com/frozenpipes.

Cold Weather

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