Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 3RD - 9TH APRIL 2020 | 9 Policy & Regulation This week Ofwat sets flexible timetable for goals Regulator says priorities and timings to be kept under review during the coronavirus pandemic With days to go before the start of the new AMP cycle, Ofwat has acknowledged flexibility in its own working will be needed dur- ing the coronavirus outbreak. Setting out its ambitions for the coming year, the regulator said priorities and timings will be kept under review as the impact of the virus on resources becomes clearer. Ofwat said partnerships will be increas- ingly important as the water sector faces challenges old and new. Both itself and the industry must adapt. The regulator's overarching goals over the next five years, based on its "Time to act, together" strategy, are to: transform company performance; drive them to address the long-term issues of climate change, popula- tion growth and changing customer expectations; and provide greater value for customers, society and the environment. It plans to achieve the first goal by developing a richer understanding of company performance and "taking swi… and targeted action". Ofwat will review and update its regulatory approach to reflect learnings from the PR14 and PR19 processes and will consult with companies and other stakeholders before publishing its findings a…er July. It has devel- oped early views on a long-term approach to regulat- ing regional monopolies and will track the outcome to assess the effectiveness of its actions. Towards the end of 2020, Ofwat will begin the consul- tation process for PR24, exploring initial proposals and areas that may require more scrutiny. RW ELECTRICITY BSC checks relaxed to reduce burden on code signatories The Performance Assurance Board for the Balancing and Settlement Code is to relax its compliance checks to reduce the burden on signatories during the coronavirus pandemic. Code administrator Elexon has also addressed concerns over the accuracy of the cus- tomer profiles used to estimate electricity demand, saying it is still assessing the impact of the lockdown on behaviour, but does not believe any changes should be made at the moment. The board decided last week to suspend the error and failure resolution process and place existing resolution plans on hold unless the supplier concerned wishes to continue being tracked. The escalation process for missed milestones will like- wise be suspended. It also decided to suspend the charges that suppliers can incur for failing to meet set perfor- mance levels in an effort to ease pressure on their cash flows. The charges for December 2019 will be collected as normal, with invoices being issued within the next several days. The charges for January and Febru- ary will similarly be calculated in the usual way, but will not be payable until a later date that is still to be determined. PAN-UTILITY Street Manager launch postponed Disruption resulting from the coronavirus crisis has prompted the government to postpone the introduction of its digital plat- form for improving the manage- ment of utility street works. Utility Week has learnt that the Department for Transport has delayed the introduction of new rules that would make it mandatory to use the Street Manager system. The system had been due to be rolled out from April, but this will now happen from July. The platform is designed to transform the planning, man- agement and communication of the estimated 2.5 million street and roadworks that take place in England every year in order to minimise disruption and improve journey times. The amendments relating to the street and roadworks regula- tion also mean that transitional arrangements for introducing Street Manager will kick in dur- ing July instead of April. Clive Bairsto, chief executive of Street Works UK, said he was pleased that the go-live date for Street Manager had been put back. "This will provide our sec- tor with much-needed certainty, to help ensure essential works can still take place at this dif- ficult time for our country," he said. Water companies just staring the next AMP Political Agenda David Blackman "Utilities will come under pressure to offer leeway" Improvisation is the order of the day, which is as true in White- hall as in the myriad companies that have had to adjust to very different working patterns over the past fortnight. Not since the darkest days of the Second World War has the British state had to work on the hoof as much as it is now. One insider, who has been in constant touch with Number 10 throughout the crisis, notes how ministers are having to make several decisions a day that in way by the number of customers who have cancelled their direct debits. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell urged the govern- ment last week to offer tempo- rary relief from utility bills for self-employed workers, who will have to wait until June to receive the support package announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak. Utilities may require some fancy footwork to ensure they keep on the right side of public opinion in coming weeks. ordinary circumstances would be weighed up over weeks. The energy sector has so far been less affected by the turmoil than many others, like hospital- ity and non-food retail, which have seen their revenue streams dry up virtually overnight. However, in an environment where the bulk of the popula- tion is losing a large chunk of its income, utilities will inevitably come under pressure to offer leeway to cash-strapped utility customers, who may wonder why they cannot secure the same kind of payment holidays being offered by their mortgage lender. The issue is being forced onto the utilities' agendas any-

• Cover