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There has been “no noticeable shift towards more water efficiency and demand-side measures” by the water companies, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).
Comparing the business plans from PR09 to the PR14 plans, CCC economic advisor Alex Townsend said there are opportunities to roll out water efficiency measures that are “yet to be fully exploited”.
By increasing water efficiency measures, he said the water companies will help manage pressures on customer bills and make water supplies more resilient.
Townsend added that Ofwat needs to carefully monitor the companies to see whether “the positive commitments” made in the PR14 business plans “are translating into greater ambition over the longer term” on water efficiency.
However, in a blog for the CCC, Townsend added there were some “positive signs on demand management” in the PR14 business plans.
These include a commitment from 13 of the water companies to reduce consumption by 215 million litres per day by 2020 through efficiency programmes; to cut leakage by 5 per cent (158 million litres) by the end of the AMP6 period; and that all but two companies have committed not to increase abstraction.
Townsend also said that “important and positive changes” have been made by Ofwat by adopting an outcomes based approach, which gives the companies flexibility in how they deliver their services.
He said this will remove the “bias” towards capital projects and “encourage creative thinking” for other solutions, such as sustainable drainage systems.
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