Water company Severn Trent is bringing together all its Welsh customers into a single company for the first time from July 1.
The new company, called Hafren Dyfrdwy, which means Severn Dee, the two major rivers in the area, will bring together all the Welsh customers previously served by Severn Trent and by Dee Valley.
That means, for the first time, the 35,100 homes and 3,900 businesses in Powys and Monmouthshire who are currently Severn Trent customers will join with current Dee Valley customers in Wales to be served by Hafren Dyfrdwy. The 49,700 homes who are currently Dee Valley customers in England will then move to Severn Trent.
The new company will be headquartered in Wrexham and will be dedicated solely to Welsh customers. It will offer current Dee Valley customers a full 24/7 customer service for the first time, as well as introducing new channels such as social media and webchat, and there will be a dedicated team based in Wrexham to serve business customers in Wales.
In addition, Hafren Dyfrdwy’s most vulnerable customers can now get up to 90% off their bills (Dee Valley customers could previously get up to 30% off the bill), and a dedicated Care and Assistance team has been created to cater specifically for their needs.
Sarah Bentley, Chief Customer Officer at Severn Trent, said:
“We’ll still be providing everyone with the same wonderful water they’re used to but, for the first time, all our Welsh customers will be served by a Welsh company.
“The change will allow us to ensure we bring the best of both companies together and also make certain we have the right local focus for our customers in each country.
“There’s nothing our customers need to do. Information will be going out over the coming weeks – and customers can carry on enjoying their water in the same way they always have.”
Customers do not need to do anything at this point as the change will not happen until July 1, and they will be contacted before that time with further information.
The main difference between Welsh and English customers relates to business customers, where there is competition in the English market which means that businesses can choose their water retailer. In Wales, only businesses which use 50MLD or more water a year are able to do that. It means that business customers in England which were previously served by Dee Valley will enter the market on July 1 and will be able to pick and choose their supplier for the first time.
There will be a new website once the new company is up and running, and Welsh customers will continue to be able to contact the business in an emergency 24/7, as well as having extended hours for billing queries.
As part of the process of setting up the new company, three non-executive directors have been appointed. They are Ann Beynon, Sally Jones-Evans and Mohammed Mehmet. Ann is currently Severn Trent’s Senior Adviser on Welsh Affairs and a former Director for Wales for BT. Sally Jones-Evans is a former senior executive of Lloyds Banking Group and a current non-executive director of The Principality Building Society and the Department for International Development. Mohammed was Chief Executive of Denbighshire County Council for 10 years, transforming it from being one of the weakest to one of the consistently highest performers in Wales. He has also recently been appointed as interim CEO of Powys County Council.
For more information on Hafren Dydfrdwy, customers can go to deevalleywater.co.uk/hdcymru.
