26 Sep 2017

Resilience, one of the four themes of Ofwat’s 2019 price review, took centre stage at recent event in London, with senior figures from across the water sector gathering to discuss what ‘resilience in the round’ should look like in practice and how water companies can learn from the past experiences and best practices of other […]

19 Sep 2017

Following a recent consultation, Defra has published its Strategic Policy Statement to Ofwat. Full details are available here, but some of the key points are: No substantive changes from the draft statement – the wording of some points / objectives has moved away from “Ofwat should work with” to be more challenging for both the […]

12 Jul 2017

Ofwat and commentators are suggesting that this will be an especially tough periodic review process, with less ‘easy money’ to be made. The Ofwat  methodology sets out: our expectations and requirements for companies preparing their business plans to meet the needs of their customers from 2020 to 2025 and beyond; how these expectations form the […]

28 Jun 2017

  The election and Grenfell have changed the mood. First it was Corbyn’s plan to renationalise water, then his relative success at the election, then another monster fine for Thames for failed leakage targets, the scandal of Australian investment bank Macquarie’s exploitation, and then Grenfell where profit lead deregulation was and will be fully exposed […]

10 May 2017

David Black is the Senior Director at Ofwat. This presentation, ‘Water 2020: Wholesale markets and PR19’, was given at the Water Industry Asset Management Conference, 10 May 2017.  Over the next 18 months, water companies in England and Wales will be drawing up their business plans for 2020 to 2025, as part of the ‘Periodic […]

04 May 2017

Bioresources & Water Resources trading – Ofwat consultation Ofwat has launched a consultation on the information needed to facilitate the launch of the new markets for bioresources and water resources trading. The regulator expects companies to publish information to enable potential market participants to identify opportunities to supply services in the treatment, transportation and disposal […]

15 Mar 2017

Defra publish strategic policy statement Water UK Communications: Defra publish their strategic policy statement for the water industry for consultation. This document sets out the government’s strategic priorities for Ofwat’s regulation of the water sector in England. We welcome the move to a more concise SPS which clearly highlights securing long-term resilience and protecting customers […]

28 Feb 2017

Ofwat’s Cathryn Ross has set out the regulator’s key themes for PR19. The first is customer service, with Ofwat expecting to see a step change from companies, “no longer an analogue service in a digital age”. The second is resilience, where companies should “anticipate and respond to shocks related to networks, ecosystems and communities”. The […]