WET News

P R E S E N T S I N A S S O C I A T I O N W I T H 16 WET NEWS MAY 2019 | wwtonline.co.uk becoming increasingly important for the company to set itself apart from compe tors. "We provide a fl exible and straigh orward service and are willing to work with ICPs or developers directly. Leep is commi ed to providing transparency for the asset payments, which will be paid in return for the adop on of the networks," Manfredi says. "Diversifi ca on is key to the business' ongoing success; we believe there is a requirement to provide a full mul -adop on off ering to developers. Similarly, with changes in the Nav market making insets more viable, we have expanded in this sector with the acquisi on of SSE Water." The addi on of SSE Water to Leep's por olio means it can provide a mul -u lity off ering, which is par cularly a rac ve for the landscape housing market – a sector in which the company is keen to expand. "As part of the acquisi on we have been able to leverage the knowledge, experience and exper se of the team, which has been most welcome as we se le into our new role as the largest operator in the UK Nav sector," Manfredi adds. The company prides itself on a fl exible business model and a commitment to delivering "straigh orward connec ons" for clients. The challenges of embracing new technologies, mee ng ambi ous sustainability targets, improving effi ciencies and lowering costs for consumers will certainly require u li es across the UK to embed fl exibility at the very core of their business and the NEW APPOINTMENTS AND VARIATIONS SCHEME Ofwat's New Appointments and Variations (NAVs) scheme allows limited companies to provide water and/or sewerage services to customers in an area that was previously provided by the incumbent monopoly provider. A new appointment is made when a limited company is appointed by the regulator to provide water and/or sewerage services for a specifi c geographic area. A varia on is where an exis ng appointed company, described as an 'appointee', asks Ofwat to vary its appointment so it can extend the areas it provides services to. A new appointee has the same du es and responsibili es as the previous statutory water company. A Nav, therefore, involves one company replacing another as the appointee for a specifi c geographic area. Ofwat introduced NAVs to promote compe on across the industry, while encouraging effi ciency, innova on and lower costs. CONTRACTORS AND SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSITION To be er support transi oning u li es as they tackle the challenges ahead, the wider supply chain is similarly restructuring and diversifying. This shi is illustrated by engineering fi rm Black & Veatch, which recently launched a smart maintenance business to be er support its u lity clients. The new offering builds on the company's technology-led asset management consulting experience to create digitally enabled onsite maintenance teams. The business will combine established technology-driven maintenance methodologies and smarter instrumentation, control and automation technology. This will be enabled by Black & Veatch's own data analytics capabilities and visualisation dashboards as well as the capabilities of its new artificial intelligence and machine learning strategic partner EMAGIN. Development of the smart maintenance business is a further extension of Black & Veatch's UK u lity off ering into the infrastructure and capital maintenance sphere. By focusing ini ally on water but with a view to broadening to other sectors, the new venture also supports a drive for greater diversifi ca on across the business. solu ons they deliver for customers. This is an abridged version of the research. For a full copy of this report and to register for U lity Week Live, which takes place on May 21-22 in Birmingham, visit: www.u lityweeklive.co.uk

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