17 Jul 2024
All 11 water and wastewater companies in England and Wales are now under scrutiny over sewage spills, after the regulator said it was expanding its investigation. This week, Ofwat opened enforcement cases into four more firms – Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent and United Utilities – as part of its probe into […]
11 Jul 2024
Ofwat has published its draft determinations for English and Welsh water companies, allowing a spending package of £88bn over the next 5 years, £16bn less than proposed by companies in their business plans. Ofwat’s headlines Investment of £10bn to tackle storm overflows with a target to reduce spills from storm overflows by 44% from levels […]
19 Jun 2024
Ofwat has published an updated timetable and key milestones for its 2024 price determination (PR24), after the general election necessitated a delay due to purdah rules. The regulator said it would endeavour to issue final determinations on 19 December, but that it was exploring the option of extending this until 31 January at the latest. […]
29 May 2024
Following the government’s decision to call a general election for 4 July, Ofwat has delayed its draft determinations, due to be published on 12 June, until 11 July. Read Ofwat’s Information Notice Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that Ofwat is poised to refuse most water companies’ requests to ratchet up consumer bills, with some getting as […]
22 May 2024
Ofwat has announced the latest winners of Breakthrough Challenge innovation funding. The 17 winning projects will share £40mn, are led by water companies and seek to address strategic challenges including on climate change, leakage and operations. The winners include: Developing a market-based approach to deliver SuDS through street works Local Regeneration of Granular Activated Carbon […]
22 May 2024
Ofwat has published a second consultation until on its plan for a new £100mn Water Efficiency Fund, to be launched in 2025. £75m is earmarked for a major campaign across England and Wales to promote awareness of the need to save water and water efficient behaviours. Annual competitions will be run for a share of the remaining […]
01 May 2024
Read CIWEM’s balanced and considered view on Ofwat’s new Growth Duty – will it support sustainable growth? This proposes an over-arching ‘sustainability duty’ to address the imbalance between Ofwat’s economic regulatory focus and the need for more robust environmental enforcement. Covered in The Guardian The Conservatives have pushed through a duty on the water regulator […]
17 Apr 2024
Customer research published by Ofwat and consumer watchdog CCW reveals that the vast majority of people do not trust water companies to do what’s right for the environment. Less than a quarter (23%) of respondents said they trust their water provider to do what is right for the environment down from 31% in 2021. Additionally, […]
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