NI Water granted £2.1bn of capital investment

Northern Ireland Water has been granted almost £2.1 billion of capital investment for water and wastewater services over the next six years.

The figure represents a 74 per cent increase when compared to the previous price control, which constrained capital investment to £990 million and left the company unable to meet the demands of the country’s home-building schemes.

The final determination for the PC21 price control covering the period 2021 to 2027 includes a reduction in the cost of financing for investment, which the Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland said will save consumers £135 million. It also includes greater stability in non-household tariffs, with bills set to fall in real terms over the six-year period.

Having permitted the additional spending, the regulator set the company an operational efficiency challenge to match upper quartile performance of equivalent English and Welsh companies during PC21. New customer service targets have been set to drive incremental and continuous improvements, with an increased focus on vulnerable consumers.

“This is a challenging price control for NI Water but builds on NI Water’s continued journey of improvement and further improving the progress made during previous price controls,” said Utility Regulator chief executive John French.

“It provides an opportunity for NI Water to begin to address the lack of capacity in Northern Ireland’s sewerage networks and wastewater treatment works which has been constraining the development of both housing and industry across our region. This will however require a stepped increase in investment and presents a wider challenge on how economic development can be supported while the necessary investment is delivered.”

PC21 will deliver the initial work on NI Water’s 25-year strategy, published in 2019, to deliver world class water services in a way that supports society to meet the challenges of decarbonising and restoring biodiversity through the 21st century.

Ronan Larkin, director of finance and regulation at Northern Ireland Water, previously told Utility Week the company’s business plan had widespread consumer and stakeholder support as people were keen to see infrastructure built to serve the country.

The Department for Infrastructure and Northern Ireland Assembly & Executive, as shareholders, have the final say on how much money can be committed to the company.

Funding for the first year of the price control period was agreed ahead of the financial year beginning in April. However, the decision to accept or appeal this determination will be made by the board in July.