Yorkshire moots “national interest” PR19 changes in light of pandemic

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published "Statement of Case" documents from all four companies appealing their PR19 final determinations: Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water, Anglian Water and Bristol Water.

These documents cover matters including customer preferences, long term resilience, risk and reward, financeability, issues with Ofwat’s methodology, and consequences should the final determinations stand, among other things. We will be looking in detail at the companies’ cases in the May edition of THE WATER REPORT.

Yorkshire Water’s submission points out in a foreword that the final determinations themselves, the decision to appeal and the basis of its case all happened before Covid-19 surfaced.

It said: “Whilst Yorkshire Water stands by the case it makes in this document, it would seem appropriate to suggest that in the current climate there are measures that either Ofwat or the CMA could take to adjust the final determination and bring this redetermination to a timely conclusion in the national interest. Yorkshire Water would be happy to discuss with Ofwat and the CMA how this might be accomplished.”