Portsmouth is "unable" to make early move in Water 2020 licence changes

Portsmouth Water has said it is unable to contribute to the licence change process proposed by Ofwat for Water 2020. Fourteen water companies have, however, declared early acceptance of the changes and support in principle for Ofwat’s licence change package.

Decisions from Severn Trent Water and Dee Valley Water are expected soon. This means the vast majority of the industry will have the opportunity to work jointly with Ofwat to develop detailed changes.

When it published its PR19 proposals in May, the regulator gave companies until 6 July to declare early acceptance of and support for the package of changes proposed, in exchange for an opportunity to work jointly with Ofwat to develop it.

Some aspects of the Water 2020 package – such as the decision to move from RPI to CPI/H and separate controls for bioresources and water resources – require water company licences to be changed. Ofwat flagged up in December that it will seek to implement the required licence changes as a package, to ensure consistency.