Ofwat has welcomed the outcome of the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into Bristol Water’s appeal against its price determination, saying  the CMA’s final decision “substantially supports and reaffirms Ofwat’s process for setting price limits during the 2014 price review.”

Commenting on the CMA decision, Cathryn Ross, Ofwat’s Chief Executive said:

“We welcome the CMA decision. The price review process challenged companies to focus on customers and seek improvements across the whole of their operations. It delivered real benefits to customers across England and Wales, including a 5% reduction in average bills and continued investment in services to the tune of £44 billion over the next five years.

“While the CMA has slightly reduced the level of bill reductions we set this is still an excellent result for Bristol Water’s customers. It is critical that Bristol Water continues to deliver a safe and secure water service to its customers.

“We hope that Bristol Water will now review its approach to our five-yearly price reviews and take forward these lessons at future reviews.”

In a statement, the regulator said it is now up to Bristol Water “to challenge itself to improve, and look closely at the way that it runs its business in the future. It needs to deliver a much more efficient service, at a lower cost whilst ensuring that it keep its customers at the heart of its decision making.”