31/05/11
Water UK has responded to a Defra consultation on how to finance exceptionally large or complex projects without putting at risk existing services to customers.
The consultation will allow projects, "of the kind never before delivered" by water companies, to go out to tender. There are a number of points where clarity is needed - in particular that this approach is only relevant for truly exceptional projects, and so companies should be able to deliver the vast majority of infrastructure projects without the burden of additional regulatory requirements.
The role of Ofwat in the tender process needs to be carefully specified and the scheme needs to be designed so that any failure of a third-party provider does not put water services to customers at risk - which is, of course, the fundamental aim of the proposed regime.
