Sustainable infrastructure

Challenging PR19: Where CMA appeals can be won or lost

With a record number of appellants requesting referrals from Ofwat to the Competition and Markets Authority for their PR19 business plans, Utility Week gathers expert views on the areas most likely to feature in the appeals.

A confident course to decarbonisation

Ofgem’s Decarbonisation Action Plan recognises that net zero requires a more holistic regulatory approach – and that it is crucial the costs and benefits of these initiatives fall fairly between different groups of consumers. Sustainability First's Sharon Darcy gives her view.

EA begins criminal prosecution against Southern

Bristol rejects Ofwat’s final determination

Bristol Water is the second company to make a request to Ofwat to refer its business plan to the Competition and Markets Authority for appeal. The company said there were "some technical issues, mainly around how to finance our company" that caused it to appeal.

Londoners must stop seeing water as ‘infinitely available resource’

Yorkshire speaks for the many, not the few

Yorkshire Water's rejection of Ofwat's final determination on its 2020-2025 business plan, triggering a referral to the CMA, has lit the touch paper on what was already an explosive situation. But will the fire spread? Ruth Williams investigates whether the company's concerns represent a wider rebellion across the sector.

Capacity auction buys more than triple target volume

Make the most of your assets

As the regulators get tough on pollution incidents in AMP7, Gareth Jones explains how improving the way wastewater treatment assets are managed could bring cost savings – and a step-change in efficiency.

Brearley steals a march on doubters

Utility Week magazine editor Suzanne Heneghan looks at what's in the in-tray for Ofgem's new chief executive and how his decarbonisation plan may be a signal of intent.

Scottish Water expects ‘moderate’ rise in bills to fund climate change resilience

Scottish Water will move into a longer term regulatory cycle from 2021, with investment plans that will have a knock-on effect for bills. The company's 25-year strategic plan sets out its goals to achieve carbon neutrality, invest in its assets and safeguard resources against climate change.

Ofgem to launch net-zero innovation fund

Trading places – energy co-operation in a post-Brexit world

UU accepts final determinations and sets out dividend policy

United Utilities said that after “careful consideration” it had accepted Ofwat’s final determination on its business plan for the next five years

UK ‘will leave’ EU internal energy market after Brexit

The European Commission has admitted that energy relations with the UK will not be “business as usual” after Brexit, with the country expected to leave the single electricity market and its tools. Utility Week has seen slides presented by the Commission at an energy summit this month which call for “strong level playing field guarantees”.

RAPID leader announced

EA's deputy director of water resources has been named as the managing director of the inter-regulatory group RAPID that will work to overcome current barriers to major infrastructure projects in the English water sector.

NI Water warns of environmental and health risks of underinvesting

Continued under-investment could result in environmental or public health risks, warns NI Water as it questions its ability to provide water and wastewater infrastructure for proposed new homes across the country without new funding being added.

Unlocking the value of DSOs

Putting customers first – when is the job done?

What the rest of the world can teach us about decarbonisation

Investor confidence remains high under tough regulation

The tough stance adopted by Ofwat has challenged the water sector and reassured its investors, according to S&P Global Ratings. Despite difficult times ahead and lower ratings, water remains a sound longer-term investment, thanks in part to the firm regulatory framework the companies operate in, a senior director told Utility Week.