New connections suspension gets an 18-month extension

Ofwat has agreed to extend the suspension of provisions dealing with new connections in the business retail market’s Wholesale Retail Code for a further year and a half.

The regulator agreed late last month with the Code Panel’s December recommendation that in view of a raft of ongoing changes in the developer services area (such as new connections charging rules and the development of the new D-Mex satisfaction measure), and other complicating factors, it would be sensible to wait to implement processes A1-A5 in the Operational Terms. In agreeing WRC change proposal CPW031, Ofwat extended the suspension from October 2018 to 1 April 2020.

The provisions were originally suspended in May 2016 until October 2018 to provide time to investigate and draft a solution for the thorny area of new connections processes at a time when all eyes were on basic readiness for go-live.