The Scottish Government has announced that from April 2018, the water industry will move towards using the most recent Rateable Value (RV) as the basis for charging for all properties.
Further information can be found on the Scottish Government website here
What does this mean?
Charges for water services (water, sewerage and drainage) are payable by owners and occupiers of all non-domestic premises in Scotland that have a connection to the public network.
Your property’s rateable value (RV) is used by Scottish Water to calculate property and roads drainage charges. If your water supply is not metered RV is also used to calculate water and waste water charges.
The water industry currently uses historic rateable values to calculate these charges. This can date back to the date the property was built or modified or as far back as 1995!
There can be significant differences between the amounts charged for unmeasured water services to properties that are charged the same level of business rates. The Scottish Government recognised that this situation was unfair and needed to change.
The changes being implemented will align the rateable value used for water services with the value used to calculate business rates
How will this affect charges?
Some customers may see an increase in charges as they transition to new (live) RV. However, to minimise the effect of this change the unit rate you’ll be charged for your new RV has been reduced by approximately 25%.
How will the move to new RV take place?
Changes will be phased over three years to lessen the impact on businesses. Each year charges based on the old Historic RV and old unit rates (2017/18 rates) will reduce and charges based upon the new Live RV and new unit rates (2020/21 rates) will increase.
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| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
| All charges are based on the historic RV and old unit rates. | 2/3 of charges are based on the historic RV and old unit rates. – 1/3 of charges will be based on the live RV and new unit rates. |
1/3 of charges are based on the historic RV and old unit rates. – 2/3 of charges are based on the live RV and new unit rates. |
All charges are based on the live RV and new unit rates. |
What rates will be used to calculate charges during transition?
The industry regulator, the Water Commission for Scotland (WICS) , has confirmed the rates and charges to be applied to the water industry’s Default Standard Tariff (DST) during the transition period.
Customers who receive a discount on DST will see their discount applied to all rates detailed below
Industry Default Standard Tariff (DST) Rates for supply points with transitioning RV
| 2017/18 rates | 2020/21 rates | ||
| Current (Historic) RV | Live RV | ||
| Unmetered water | |||
| Fixed charge | £157.96 | £167.63 | Per connection per year |
| Rateable value charge | £0.03035 | £0.02176 | Per £ of rateable value |
| Unmetered waste | |||
| Fixed charge | £178.38 | £189.30 | Per connection per year |
| Rateable value charge | £0.05092 | £0.03651 | Per £ of rateable value |
| Drainage charge | |||
| Property drainage | £0.02733 | £0.02244 | Per £ of rateable value |
| Roads drainage | £0.01755 | £0.01433 | Per £ of rateable value |
A copy of the default retail standard and charges is available from the water industry commission for Scotland website here
Further information
If you would like to speak to a member of our customer service team please call 0330 022 05 70. Alternatively you can send the team an email at customerservice@brightwater.com or complete our contact form here
- You can find general information on RV charges at the Scottish Government website.
- Frequently asked questions are available on the Scottish Government website.
- Wholesale and default retail charges for 2018-19 are available on the Water Commission website.
- You can find your RV on the Scottish Assessors Association website.
- Copies of letters sent to Brightwater Customers regarding the change can be found here