Utility Week

and working with local authori es and local flooding authori es, along with developers, is key to realising the benefits. "Thinking more na onally, there is also poten al for intra-sector asset and financial rela onships to be op mised in order to encourage cross-border network connec ons and na onal water trading. Ofwat is providing an allowance for the development of North-South strategic supply solu ons as part of the current price review process." Regulatory pressure While Chadwick admits the next AMP period will require water companies to meet some ambi ous commitments, UU is approaching the challenge head on. In January, it was one of just three firms praised by Ofwat for se ng a "new standard" in their individual business plans for PR19. Alongside Severn Trent and South West Water, UU was placed in "fast track" and given the green light to begin delivering its plans for customers. Despite this posi ve feedback from Ofwat, is the company confident the current regulato- ry model facilitates the level of innova on re- quired from water firms to meet the long-term challenges facing the sector? "The regulatory model isn't sta c; it has evolved at each and every price review," says Chadwick, poin ng to the changes made at PR14 and 2019. "The regulatory regime allows a lot of flexibility to adapt to different situa ons and changing circumstances and there are plenty of opportuni es le for companies to challenge themselves to use it," he says While UU is already well-placed to deliver against the challenges set out in PR19, it remains to be seen whether other u li es across the country with varying assets and financial pressures will be able to perform within regulatory constraints while also con nuing to drive valuable innova on. A W O R D F R O M O U R P L A T I N U M S P O N S O R TRANSITION AT O2 Transi on means change, and change can mean uncertainty. Regardless of the type of u li es service you provide, you can be sure of one thing – success depends on delivering a consistently great service for your customers. That's where O2 can help. A ground-up approach Your engineers are the lifeblood of your organisa on. When communi es are facing a broken pylon, a burst water main, or a poten ally life- threatening gas leak, they rely on your engineers to sort it out. They need someone with the right skills, the right kit, and fast. And they expect the problem to be fixed first me. Understanding a business from the ground up is what leads to real transforma on. The O2 U li es team Our dedicated team takes me to listen to field workers so we know what they need to be their best. We balance their insights with your priori es. And then we deliver solu ons that help workers stay connected, efficient, and safe. We keep engineers and other field workers connected to those at the office, so they're always able to access the data they need to get the job done safely and efficiently. That free flow of informa on also means boardrooms and local offices have complete visibility over what's happening on the ground and can make be er decisions, faster. Solu ons that work Our approach delivers results. That's why Northumbrian Water chose O2 as their technology partner. Together we're crea ng a connec vity pla orm to transform their business, helping them to get real value from IoT innova ons and take customer service to the next level. "We were looking for a partner that has the same feeling of being innova ve, that's at the heart of a community, and really cares about its customers. We think we've found that in O2," says Nigel Watson, Group Director of Informa on Services, Northumbrian Water Group. Can we talk? We'd love to get a be er understanding of your challenges and discuss how we can help you support customers and employees. Email Head of U li es David O'Brien and his team on u li es@businesso2.co.uk, and we'll arrange a me to meet you at U lity Week Live – you'll find us at stand F56. To read a more detailed version of this report or to find out more about U lity Week Live and to Register go to h ps://www.u lityweeklive.co.uk P R E S E N T S IN ASSOCIATION WITH 28 | 29TH MARCH - 4TH APRIL 2019 | UTILITY WEEK

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