(by Karma Loveday) Lee Pitcher MP, former water industry employee and chair of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups relevant to the sector, has been appointed Parliamentary private secretary to Defra. Yorkshire Water has appointed Jonathan Lewis as a non-executive director and chair designate. He will take over as chair from 1 October 2026, succeeding Vanda Murray OBE DBA. Lewis is chair of Associated British Ports and former chief executive of Capita and Amec Foster W

(by Karma Loveday) The Strategic Panel has called on Ofwat to show the reasoning and evidence behind its Retail Exit Code (REC) Review positions. Responding to the REC consultation, the most senior governance body in the business retail water market welcomed the direction of travel proposed by the regulator in terms of more closely tailoring protections to harms. But it probed for detailed evidence of harm and therefore the need for protection, and wanted to see a more dynami

(by Karma Loveday) Four more areas – East Midlands, Lincolnshire & Northamptonshire, Kent & East Sussex, and Solent & the South Downs – moved into drought last week. This means 71.3% of England, as well as all of Wales, is now formally in drought. 45m people are living in drought areas, and 27m are subject to temporary use bans from eight water companies. In parallel, the North East and Yorkshire moved to prolonged dry weather – the stage before drought – with nowhere now de

(by Karma Loveday) Ofwat has allowed the vast majority of extra spending requested by water companies under the new Cost Change Process, which enables in-period funding for requirements that were uncertain or unknown when the PR24 determinations were issued. Thirteen companies submitted requests totalling £4.3bn. £752m was assessed to be out of scope or insufficiently evidenced. Of the remaining £3.53bn, £3.39bn (96%) has been approved under draft decisions issued last week.

(by Verity Mitchell) Frontier Economics has produced a report commissioned by Thames Water’s creditors, which has suggested that re-nationalising the water sector would cost £400bn over the next 24 years. The number reflects only the cost to the Government, with no compensatory benefit assumptions. The report put the initial cost of re-nationalisation at £144bn in 2029/30 prices, given the most realistic timeframe for any transaction. The Government would then be liable for a

(by Verity Mitchell) Scottish Water’s Annual Report for 2025-2026 recorded progress on project milestones and the company's highest-ever investment of £1.3bn. £821m was in the regulated business, up from £778m. Group revenue increased to £2,360m, up 13%. The regulated water segment saw increased revenues to £1,737.8m. The group operating surplus increased by 57% to £363m, driven by the regulated business which contributed £343.9m, up from £213.8m in the prior year. The group

(by Karma Loveday) South West Water has become the latest company to introduce an area-wide hosepipe ban. From Saturday, the restriction applied to all customers in Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Dorset and Somerset. The company also applied for a drought permit on 20 July. The House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee has found that Pet Parasite Medications (PPMs) are potentially causing widespread damage to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

(by Karma Loveday) Large customer representative the Major Energy Users’ Council (MEUC) has called on wholesalers, retailers and the wider water market to use functional statements rather than labels in smart water meter rollout communications. In a new paper, the MEUC’s Smart Water Meter Rollout Strategy Group highlighted that terms such as ‘smart,’ ‘AMR’ and ‘logger’ are being defined inconsistently – both within the water sector and between the energy and water sectors. Fo

(by Karma Loveday) The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) has reported raising the bar for non-household customers in Scotland after giving pass marks to all retailers under its first Market Health Check (MHC). The regulator assessed whether retailers are delivering against WICS’ Code of Practice, which sets expectations for the level of service business customers should receive. This involved scrutinising 26 important areas of provider performance, including pre-c

(by Verity Mitchell) Fitch Ratings has upgraded the rating of the senior secured debt of the financing company of Southern Water Services (SWS) to BBB from BBB-‌‌ with a stable outlook. The upgrade reflected sustained equity support from funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management, now joined by Asterion Industrial Partners, which holds a 20% stake. SWS has made public its shareholders' intent to inject further equity to reach 65% reported net debt/regulated capital value (RC