Competition and Markets Authority bill changes to be spread over three years

Prices determined by the Competition and Markets Authority for the customers of Northumbrian Water, Yorkshire Water, Anglian Water and Bristol Water will be applied over three years, starting April 2022. That was the conclusion from Ofwat’s chief regulation officer, David Black (pictured), following a December letter consulting on three options: applying prices over three years, three and a half years (from October 2021) or four years (from April 2021).

Black said in another letter published last week, that Northumbrian and Yorkshire favoured the three year option, while Anglian and Bristol favoured four years. Widespread concern was raised about the 3.5 year option.

Black said applying prices over three years was “the best option in the circumstances. This would not require changes to billing and IT systems and could be easily implemented by companies. While customer bills might increase more quickly, we expect any changes in charges to be relatively small, and the increased time would allow appropriate consultation and transparency with customers and other stakeholders, increasing predictability and stability.”

He described the four year option preferred by Anglian and Bristol as “increasingly impractical” in light of the new national Covid-19 lockdown and said: “Given the views and practical implications for business retailers who operate in the areas of all four disputing companies, it does not seem appropriate or practical to adopt different approaches for different companies.”