P1. Report on progress to a flourishing market. Produce a regular report on progress to a flourishing market to meet the condition that potential new entrants have access to the state of the market. This will enable informed decisions on whether to enter the market which could enable increased customer choice.

October 2025: An interim report on the progress towards a flourishing market was presented to the Strategic Panel in August. The report has been updated in the areas of switch rates, customer satisfaction and customer awareness, post publication of Ofwat's Business retail market update 2024-25 and the Ofwat/ CCW Business Customer Insight Survey 2025.

August 2025: An update on progress against Roadmap actions and market indicators was presented at the June 2025 Strategic Panel meeting. An external facing progress report will be published on the MOSL website ahead of the Strategic Panel's Open Forum on 19 September.

June 2025: No change from April 2025. This is an ongoing piece of work. Regular progress updates for each action are published on a quarterly basis on these webpages. Further detail, including progress against the market health indicators is expected to be published in an annual report. The first report is due to be published in August 2025 with future years after the end of each financial year.

31 March 2026

P2. Debate on non-household open market data. Facilitate a debate on what open data means to the market, including who holds what responsibilities and who can access what. This could enable third party intermediaries (TPIs) and authorised stakeholders (e.g. landlords and customers) to request data corrections and make informed choices on water saving or switching.

October 2025: At its 3 September meeting, the Strategic Panel agreed next steps, including defining data-sharing prerequisites, governance and the need for a business case (SP19a_05). MOSL is progressing open data use cases, supported by code changes CPM061/CPW158 and CPM060/CPW156.

August 2025: MOSL will present its recommended approach to Open Data at the 3 September Strategic Panel meeting, with the Strategic Panel to then share their view at their Open Forum on 19 September.

June 2025: A paper suggesting some data sharing principles for the market and outlining their potential impacts is expected to be prepared for discussion at the 3 September Panel meeting. It is expected that the principles will then be refined and presented for discussion at the Panel Open Forum on 19 September.

31 March 2026

P3. Debate on centralised data. Facilitate a debate on the holding of centralised customer data to ensure there is clarity on where correct customer and consumption data is held and who has access to it. This will enable a common standard for benchmarking so the market can evidence on water demand by customer segment, water resource zone, postcode or catchment area. 

31 March 2026

P4. Review and refine market eligibility. Define a common eligibility standard to enable clear market eligibility rules to be applied consistently across all wholesaler regions. This will ensure the right customer sites are included in, and able to engage and derive benefits from the market. This will look to build on ongoing work by MOSL/CCW and include consideration of temporary building supplies.

October 2025: MOSL and CCW will present options to clarify eligibility definitions and improve processes for removing ineligible premises from the market at the November User Forum. The proposals include new CMOS transactions, updated code definitions and guidance and a dispute resolution process aligned with the Customer Protection Code of Practice.

August 2025: Four key milestones have been idenified for this project, with the first milestone- presentation to User Forum-due in November. The subsequent three milestones are scheduled for 2026, with the code changes to go live in October 2026.

June 2025: The RWG eligibility group, supported by CCW have highlighted ambiguities in the Water Industry Act (WIA) and Ofwat guidance on eligibility. The RWG Steering Group met and agreed MOSL would present a strawman for Panel review in September prior to engaging a small working group. MOSL will present the output to the User Forum in Q3 25/26. This strawman will include guidance on who should be in the market (based on the CCW flowchart) and how ineligible premises can be removed (based on revised RWG supported guidance). Changes to the codes and WIA are anticipated to enact changes.

31 March 2026

P5. Review Switching Provisions. Once confidence in the switching service has been encouraged by establishing protections for customers who have moved away from the deemed rate, the customer experience of the switching process should be reviewed, to identify further barriers of required protections for customers. This will help encourage smaller customers to re-negotiate their contracts or switch suppliers to gain better value. 

October 2025: Ofwat’s Business Retail Market Update 2024-25 shows continued retailer switching in the business retail market, though at a slightly lower rate than last year. Customer research indicates most switchers find the process straightforward, but satisfaction and perceived benefits have declined compared to 2020. These findings will inform the Panel’s upcoming review.

August 2025: The Strategic Panel was initally concerned that customers moving from the deemed rate to a bespoke tariff would be unable to return if they found that this was not to their advantage. As this is not the case, the Panel will now shift its focus to customer awareness and ensuring an optimum experience.

June 2025: Little change from the Customer Protection Code of Practice (CPCoP) changes noted in the April 2025 update. The Panel noted in their June meeting that the energy sector had considered implementing a same day switching process. The review of the current process could consider whether this was applicable to the business retail market.

31 March 2027