Sensitive Customers

(SEMDV - E1 & E2)

The following table should be used for guidance when identifying a sensitive customer in the non-household market and outlines our alternative supply provision in the event of an incident. please note this is not an exhaustive list.

In the event of a supply interruption our timescales for delivery of alternative supplies are wholly dependent on the extent of the incident and other customers affected (priority basis). The supply of bottled water or a tanker would not be immediate and will be assessed by our teams within the first six hours.

None of the categories outlined in the table below should rely on an alternative supply from us and business continuity measures should be implemented. There may be occasions in which we cannot guarantee a continuous uninterrupted supply.

Table

Tier	Description	Example	Affinity Water Response/Offering
1	High dependency/vulnerable residential population where relocation is highly problematic	Hospitals Prisons	Retailer to provide site specific arrangement plan (SSA). You can access our SSA document here. Tankered water provision either pumped into a private network or direct into storage tanks if available
2	Vulnerable residential population*	Care Homes Hospices Nursing Homes	Tankered supply or dedicated static tank(s) or bottled water.
3	Non-residential but with an unacceptable societal impact	Educational establishments NHS walk-in centres GP Surgeries Dentists Day-care facilities Critical National Infrastructure or locally important infrastructure**	Tankered supply or dedicated static tank(s) or bottled water. Consider the quantity of water required and assess the feasibility of customers collecting bottled water from hub location.
4	Agricultural/Economic Hardship	Farms with livestock (Without access to suitable environmental water and where relocation is highly problematic Zoos Vets Kennels/Catteries	Dedicated static tank(s) Consider the quantity of water required and assess the feasibility of customer collecting bottled water from hub location. Consider the use of non-potable water.

*Sheltered housing or assisted living fall under household classification and will be treated accordingly.

**As defined by Government or Local Resilience Forums during planning or response; i.e. establishments which, they close will have an immediate detrimental effect on civil society or negatively affect a wider incident such as communications; energy; food production or distribution' emergency services' transport hubs.

Identifying a Sensitive Customer (E1)

We need your help to ensure our records are up to date, in line with the market codes. Please ensure you use our table above to ensure you're marking sensitive customers correctly.

When you inform us of a chance to the Sensitive Customer flag (D2005 Customer Classification - Sensitive Customer: "NA or Sensitive Customer") contained within the T132.R transaction, we will review this change and raise any queries with you directly.

If you have any queries into the classification, please contact our Wholesale Service Desk Team (WOSD) who will happily provide further guidance on this.

Site Specific Arrangements (E2)

For Tier 1 customers, such as hospitals and prisons, we will work with you and your customers to put plans in place to ensure that your customer's water supply needs are met during an incident or event

Our Site-Specific Arrangements (SSA) form is here - please share this with your customer and pass this to use when complete so we can undertake follow up actions, meetings with you and your customer. We will also update the relevant flag within the market systems.

Alternative Supplies & Business Continuity

Whilst we do everything, we can to maintain a consistent supply of water to all of our customers, there are occasions where we are unable to provide additional support. We expect businesses to reasonably protect themselves in the event of a loss of supply situation to help mitigate risk and prevent loss of business operations and issues that arise from this.

The statutory levels of compensation available from the GSS scheme may not be sufficient to cover the costs of any lost production should a business need to suspend/restart production. It is therefore important that customers understand the limitations of alternative supplies as set out above and in circumstances where business process rely intrinsically upon a constant supply of water, then it is imperative that customer’s business continuity plans take account of this requirement.

Non-household business customers may consider a range of options to ensure business continuity in a situation where supplies are lost. Business continuity solutions may suggest having the use of one or more of the following solutions in place to mitigate any interruptions to supply.

On site storage (capacity required to operate for a defined number of hours)
Provision of emergency tankered water supplies (private contractor)
Borehole supplies
Wastewater recycling/grey water recovery options

In summary it is important to understand the priority that wholesalers will apply to supplies in the first instance and that for some businesses the need to have a comprehensive business continuity plan may be justified in order to minimise the risk of lost production due to even a very short disruption to a mains supply.

Water-saving tips & devices

Save Water

(SEMDV - E1 & E2)

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