Photo source: Thames Water
At the All Party
Parliamentary Water Group House of Commons reception on Monday night it was
fascinating to hear Ann McIntosh’s views on innovation in the water industry. Surprisingly
she was highly critical of Ofwat and said she though Ofwat were jumping the gun
in pushing for licence changes with the water companies.
It is clear that Ofwat’s
request to change the license terms to promote retail competition is causing
real concern. Water company share prices have dropped significantly over the last
two weeks as investors take fright. Now 17 of the water companies have
apparently rejected Ofwat’s license changes.
Water UK reported: “Companies have considered these proposals carefully. Companies want to
maintain investor confidence and the low cost of financing that the sector
enjoys, which keeps customers' bills as low as possible - an objective which is
shared by the Government.
The majority of companies have been unable to accept Ofwat's proposals
in their current form due to widespread concern within the industry about their
potential impact on investor confidence”.
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