Thames Water will use an alliance model to deliver a significant proportion of its 2015-to-2020 capital investment programme, it announced this week.
Under the new approach the organisations in Thames Water’s AMP6 alliance will get involved early in the process of helping shape the company’s business plan for the next five-year period, which will be submitted to the regulator Ofwat ahead of the 2014 industry price review.
The company unveiled its plans to "completely transform" the way it delivers its capital investment at a 'Preparing for AMP6' supplier event, at the Madjeski Stadium in Reading.
Lawrence Gosden, capital delivery director for Thames Water, said:
"The aim of today’s event was to engage our supply chain early, getting everybody up to speed with our plans for AMP6 and beyond.
"We need to make significant investment in our water and wastewater networks over the next 10 years, and in order to do that efficiently and sustainably we need to completely transform the way we deliver our investment programmes.
"Following extensive feedback from and discussion with many members of the supply chain and industry bodies, we believe that moving to an alliance model is what will enable us to work together in a way that delivers the very best value for our customers over the long term.
"By assembling the best team we will give ourselves the best chance of success, so our focus is on business alignment, quality and value."
The move is also driven by pressure to keep bills low while upgrading the ageing infrastructure in Thames’ service area.
Under Thames Water’s new delivery model, potential suppliers will have the opportunity to gain up to 12 years of work if they align effectively with the alliance’s shared values and business objectives.
The working principles of the company’s AMP6 alliance represent a big change from past delivery models. They include:
- collaborative: a joint team working with an integrated supply chain to make use of the industry’s very best experience and expertise;
- innovative: boosting safety, efficiency and service for customers by exploiting and developing all the available innovative approaches, materials and equipment;
- sustainable: taking a long-term view, designing and delivering solutions that represent value for money for customers both now and in future.
In the next five-year regulatory period, 2015 to 2020, it is expected that a significant proportion of Thames Water's investment programme will be carried out by its AMP6 alliance team.
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