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Water bosses’ to-do lists this week must have more changes and crossings-out than England’s World Cup team sheet. And, just as the national coach’s game plan and priorities must constantly adapt in the face of adversity, so too it seems must theirs.
In fact, our water utilities might be able to help him out with a thing or two on that score. They know all too well about striking a balance between years of planning, keeping their masters and public happy and ensuring long-term resilience.
Juggling limited resources and competing demands is surely another similarity, as well as operating under intense media scrutiny pretty much all the time.
So, just when they might have hoped to settle down to watch someone else under pressure this week – having likely ranked their key objectives for the foreseeable future as PR19 and Ofwat’s reform agenda – the goalposts moved again.
Within days, two more major missives hit their desks to revise those action lists – courtesy of the environment secretary and the regulator:
1. Show more commitment
The first, Michael Gove’s call for them to go further and help deliver £5 billion of investment so support the Environment Agency’s Water Industry National Environment Programme by 2025, will have felt challenge enough. Companies had already planned to spend £25 billion on environmental work by 2020 and have pumped in more than £2.5 billion to protect UK bathing waters. Finding the cash for additional investment will be all the tougher under the next regulatory settlements, and water bosses will be anxiously seeking innovations and other means of delivering more for less.
2. Improve performance
The second, this week’s Beast from the East findings from Ofwat on customer service during winter storms that left thousands off-supply, will have given the four singled out to improve performance in three months – Thames Water, Severn Trent, Southern Water and South East Water – another epic challenge.
Government and the regulator have made it clear to anyone still in doubt that this year needs to be a real game-changer for the water industry and those companies who must get their house in order.
The role of England manager is often dubbed “the impossible job”; this week some water company chief executives might know how that feels.
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