Water Minister Emma Hardy highlighted the significant challenges and opportunities for the UK water sector in the keynote speech at the British Water Annual Conference in Coventry yesterday.

Water regulator Ofwat is in the High Court today in Manchester in a Judicial Review brought by campaign group River Action which argues that Ofwat acted unlawfully because its approach has potentially allowed water companies to charge bill payers twice for the same infrastructure improvements that should have been carried out years ago.

The Competition and Markets Authority has just announced it has given five water companies the go-ahead to increase bills beyond the levels determined by Ofwat in its PR24 final determinations in December 2024.

The Competition & Markets Authority has updated the administrative timetable for the publication of its provisional determination on Price Review appeals by five water companies against Ofwat’s Final Determinations on their AMP8 business plans.

Ofwat has launched a new consultation setting out its proposed approach for additional scrutiny for large schemes during 2025-30 within a water company’s self-delivered investment programme where the requested value is greater than £100 million or where there are significant concerns around scope, cost, deliverability, complexity, or if schemes involve novel elements or complex technologies.

The Competition and Markets Authority has published the first submissions from Ofwat and the five water companies for 2024 Price Review appeals, alongside a significant list of submissions from other stakeholders and a detailed timetable for the redeterminations.

The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has requested an extension of six months to the process that will see it redetermine the price reviews for five water companies.

Ofwat has formally referred the requests from five companies for a redetermination of their PR24 Final Determination to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The referral commences the six-month period which the CMA has to consider appeals (subject to any request for an extension).

Ofwat has confirmed that six companies have requested references to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Wessex Water has today asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to review Ofwat’s Final Determination setting how much the company can invest in vital water and sewerage improvements over the next five years.