New ‘powerful water regulator to replace failed Ofwat’ in drive to reset sector | Water industry

A new “powerful” water regulator should replace Off, the inspection of drinking water and the Environment Agency to “reset” a sector tarnished by scandals on wastewater spills and poor financial management, recommended a major examination.

The government is expected to adopt the recommendation for England and Wales in the journal it ordered in Sir Jon Cunliffe, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, which was published on Monday.

The criticisms said that Ofwat had chaired an under-infringing culture in infrastructure and financial mismanagement on the part of water companies since its creation in 1989, when the industry was privatized.

Thames Water, the most disturbing case for the government and the largest water company in the United Kingdom, is charged with 20 billion pounds in debt and has trouble avoiding financial collapse in special administration, a form of temporary nationalization.

The Cunliffe examination suggested a new regulator, with powers to “direct” or take control of failing water companies.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Teday program, Cunliffe said that Ofwat had “failed” because “for many years he did not have the powers”. He added: “To be frank on this subject, he was ordered by the government to take a light touch to the regulations.”

Cunliffe said that the complexities of the water industry required “a broader, less monolithic approach and less based on the economic regulation and business performance office against their licenses”.

Emma Hardy, Minister of Water and Floods, said that the government would spend summer examining the number of 88 recommendations of the report to adopt. “We will present a water bill next year which will change the law and put a lot of law,” she said.

Environmental secretary Steve Reed also announced on Monday that he would take the recommendation of the report to create a mediator with legal powers to compensate consumers who fail by the water industry, for example with dry taps due to burst pipes and wastewater leaks in gardens.

The report revealed that there are only 58 staff members responsible for protecting the security of the country’s drinking water, due to public service rules on staff and wages.

This means that the Commission has declared that the inspection of drinking water in its current form may not be able to take up the “challenges of the future”. The report also indicates that the country is not protected against pollutants in water such as PFAs, or “chemicals forever” and microplastic, and recommends legislative modifications to resolve and remove them from water supply.

He also recommends that invoices are not increased spectacularly, as they were in April and will be until the end of the decade, the new regulator prioritizing consistent investments in infrastructure so that companies do not have to “catch up” and increase invoices to build or urgently repair sewers and tanks.

The compulsory intelligent measure should also be deployed in houses across England and Wales, the Commission recommends, which means that households that use larger volumes of water will be billed more. The report also suggests that more companies receive intelligent meters to reduce water use and a social rate nationally to help consumers who cannot afford their bills.

The Commission was prohibited by Reed to consider the nationalization of water. However, he considered the possibility that water companies will be transferred to a non -profit model, as used in Welsh Water.

Cunliffe said that the regulation of water companies and the way they were managed were a more important factor to know if they worked well or badly, rather than their property structure.

James Wallace, the CEO of River Action, said: “It was a unique opportunity to reset a broken and corrupt system. Instead, the committee blocked eyes. After three decades of privatization, there is no evidence that it can work.”

Gary Carter, GMB Union national officer, said: “Water privatization was a disastrous failure. Our rivers and navigable ways have been victims of fault, while Bills Rocket and Fat Cat Bosses enrich themselves.

“Meanwhile, the water infrastructure collapses for lack of investment. It’s a shame – and a OFWAT supervised. ”

The former under-in-law leader and water activist, Feargal Sharkey, said that Reed should resign for the fact of not grasping the question of wastewater pollution. He told Good Morning Britain: “I think Steve had to think very carefully about the mess that the last 12 months have been. He should go.”