WATER SERVICES
REGULATION AUTHORITY News Release (PN 26/08) issued by The
Government News Network on 13 August 2008
A third new
household water supplier is set to enter the water and sewerage
sector in England and Wales after Ofwat today launched a
consultation into proposed services for a site at Tidworth, near Andover.
The regulator is proposing to grant an inset appointment to allow
Veolia Water Projects Limited (VWP) to supply water and sewerage
services to the site, which comprises 600 civilian household and
non-household customers, and 1200 Ministry of Defence properties.
Thames Water was granted an inset appointment in 1998 to become
water and sewerage undertaker to the site. The site was originally
within the supply areas of Wessex Water and Southern Water. As
part of the sale of Thames Water Services Limited to Veolia in
2007, Thames Water has consented to transfer the Tidworth site to VWP.
Since the Tidworth inset appointment is part of Thames
Water's regulated business VWP must obtain an inset
appointment to become the new appointee. Ofwat is now seeking
views on its proposal to allow the change of supplier.
Keith Mason, Ofwat's Director of Regulatory Finance and
Competition, said today: "If this gets the go-ahead, VWP will
match Wessex Water's tariffs, as Thames did before it. This
arrangement will continue until at least 2014.
"Ofwat would monitor the performance of the company to
ensure that customers would not pay more than they would if they
had been supplied by Thames Water. VWP would also be subject to
the same level of customer service requirement as all other water
and sewerage companies."
Notes to Editors:
1. The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the
economic regulator of water and sewerage companies in England and
Wales. It exercises its powers in a way that it judges will
protect the interests of consumers, promote value and safeguard
future water and sewerage services by allowing efficient companies
to carry out their functions properly, and finance them.
2. An inset appointment is the route by which one company
replaces another as the appointed water and/or sewerage company
for a specified area. Following an inset appointment, the
replacement water and sewerage company will have all of the same
duties and responsibilities as the previous statutory water and
sewerage company for the specified area.
3. There are three qualifying criteria for seeking an inset appointment.
a. For an area in which each of the premises of one or more
customers is supplied (or is likely to be supplied) with not less
than 50 megalitres of water in England (250 megalitres of water in
Wales) in any period of 12 months. This also applies to inset
appointments for sewerage services.
b. For an area which is not served by an existing appointed
company - an 'unserved site'. This includes an area that
may be currently supplied by unregulated or 'private'
supplies with its own source of water. This criterion has to be
met for both water and sewerage services included in the inset
appointment application.
c. For an area where the existing appointed company consents to
transfer that area to the inset appointee. VWP has applied under
this criterion.
4. Comments must be submitted to Ofwat by 9 September 2008.
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