Following the publication of the 2024 Price Review final determinations by Ofwat in December 2024, a total of six water companies have indicated they will appeal Ofwat’s Final Determination to the Competition and Markets Authority.
Companies had until the 18th February to either accept Ofwat’s determination or request a referral to the CMA for a redetermination.
By the close of the deadline, six water companies had requested a review:
- Anglian Water
- Northumbrian Water
- Thames Water
- Southern Water
- South East Water
- Wessex Water
In total, the six companies serve more than half of all households in England. Water UK, the trade association for water and wastewater companies across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the appeals follow Ofwat’s decision to cut the six companies planned investment by nearly £7 billion in their final determinations released in December.
David Henderson, Water UK Chief Executive, said:
“Water companies need to invest billions to strengthen and expand infrastructure to support economic growth, secure our water supplies and end sewage entering our rivers and seas. Although many water companies can live with Ofwat’s decisions, an unprecedented six – serving the majority of customers in England – feel that they have no choice but to appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority. Companies hope it will overturn Ofwat’s decisions so they can get on with the job of helping deliver the Government’s overriding national priority – economic growth.”
The next step will be for Ofwat to formally make the references to the CMA, which will then have six months to make its own determinations. If required, this can be extended by up to a further six months if there are “special reasons”. For example, PR19 had a 6-month extension because the CMA was processing four appeals simultaneously, whilst also dealing with the impact of the pandemic.
Chris Walters, Senior Director for the Price Review at Ofwat, said:
“As part of the standard process underpinning our Price Reviews, it is the right of companies to request a redetermination by the CMA. We will be re-stating our case as part of this process.
“Our PR24 final determinations unlock a quadrupling of investment by the sector. This will accelerate the delivery of work to deliver cleaner rivers and seas – as well as securing long-term drinking water supplies for customers.
“Final determinations were based on a robust examination of all funding requests made by companies to ensure every pound of customer bills provides value for money, delivers real improvements and enables the sector to attract the investment it needs.”
