What is a SPID?

ARTICLE * 2 MINUTE READ * TUESDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2022

 

When it comes to utility bills, the acronyms can be confusing! Here's a brief outline of what a SPID is, and what SPIDS are used for.

'SPID' stands for Supply Point Identifier (or Supply Point ID); it's a reference number that tells us which water supply belongs to which business premises.

Why are SPIDs important in the water industry?

They allow retailers and wholesalers to access all historical data relating to the premises including past meter reads, changes to charges, and so on. SPIDs are also required if a customer wants to switch water supplier.

How do you find out what a premises' SPID is?

You'll find SPID(s) on water services invoices. On ours, you'll find them on page two. If in doubt, call your retailer, they can access market data for you and let you know. Whether a site has a meter or not, it will always have a SPID number if it's a business property. A SPID is different from a meter serial number; you can have multiple meters, or none, on one SPID.

The difference between a 'core' SPID and water/sewerage SPIDs:

Business premises usually have one 'core' SPID. For English customers, this is 10 digits long and starts with a 3. For Scottish customers, this is 8 digits long and starts with a 1 or 2. This SPID forms the beginning of your two separate water and sewerage SPIDs, which have an additional three digits on the end to define whether they represent water or wastewater.

So for example, an English water SPID will consist of 10 digits followed by a 'W' for water and another two digits: 3XXXXXXXXWXX.

While an English sewerage SPID is made up of 10 digits followed by an 'S' for sewerage, and another two digits: 3XXXXXXXXSXX.