Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | NOVEMBER 2022 | 15 Water 'More imagination and more bravery' needed to act on AMMA Anglian Water's head of strategic investment management refl ects on the key recommendations and considerations outlined in Ofwat's Asset Management and Maturity Assessment – or AMMA. D iscussing the need to simul- taneously respond to AMMA and prepare for AMP8, Anglian Water's head of strategic investment management, Matthew Humphrey, told the conference that amid exciting tech advances in areas such as climate science and data analytics, and subse- quent opportunities in network man- agement, deeper collaboration was • rmly on the agenda. "We need more imagination and more bravery," he told delegates, say- ing the time had come to stop think- ing about • ve-year cycles in favour of planning 25 or 50 years into the future. "How can we better monitor opera- tional resilience and asset health and get under the skin of asset health, rather than short-term performance commitments?" he said. "Let's get bet- ter at risk and review." Released in September 2021 in a bid to deliver more e‰ ective commu- nication and consistent thinking in relation to asset health, management and their links to resilience across the water sector, Ofwat's AMMA sets out a series of insights to inform water company asset policy for the bene• t of customers, environment and society. Comprising • ndings from research gathered from water companies between November 2020 and March 2021, its over- arch- ing rec- ommendation is for • rms to work together to improve asset manage- ment maturity across the sector – most prominently through industry forums and action plans. AMMA recommendations also out- line that boards have clear oversight and understanding of asset health risks and plans to mitigate them, as well as improved approaches to plan- ning by aligning short, medium and long-term measures via detailed deliv- ery strategies. On top of this, it is recommended that companies systematically iden- tify areas of uncertainty, develop data management strategies, ensure sta‰ are trained to plan and manage asset e' ciency, and that social and envi- ronmental value is both tracked and monitored in any intervention. With this in mind, Humphrey explained that practical points for improvement could include more pro- active approaches to open data – such as steps to make data more broadly available to the supply chain and academia, for example – alongside a greater focus on attracting a new pipeline of talent to counterbalance an ageing industry workforce. While Humphrey explained that a number of responses were already well underway – "industry groups popping up all over the place" – he asserted that broader innovation and more habitual sharing of best prac- tice was still required to plug gaps in areas such as data and environment management. Humphrey added that Ofwat had also pledged to consider how its regu- lation could change to re' ect these • ndings. Stuart Stone, editor, Utility Week Innovate between November 2020 and March 2021, its over- arch- ing rec- Headline conference sponsor to be transformational or we will walk o‰ a cli‰ as a society", but felt the dra" framework from Ofwat made the right noises. However, he expressed some concern that when the regulator spoke of "long-term thinking", it could mean deferring essential work. Energy costs spurring e ciency Matt Humphrey, head of strategic investment management at Anglian, raised the topi- cal point that with power and energy bills increasing, energy e' ciency, including how assets are run, was under sharp scrutiny. He said the water sector's power costs last year had almost doubled to c£900 million, which meant his company had to "throw every- thing it possibly can at energy e' ciency". Holistic thinking at catchment scale Nature-based solutions have a signi• cant part to play in the future of infrastructure. Carol Cairns, strategic planning manager with Northumbrian Water, said adopting holistic thinking with nature-based solu- tions was essential for the sector to have any chance of meeting its ambitions to drive down emissions. She said the indus- try simply could not keep using carbon- intensive schemes but added that regulators needed to be a part of the journey alongside companies. Plugging the skills gap Sarah Watson, principle engineer at Ofwat, spoke about how future generations can be protected from price hikes and ageing infra- structure with asset management, of which people are a key part. Decisions about man- agement strategies for assets are built on people's skills and choices. However, self- reporting by water companies as part of the AMMA showed skills and capabilities were yet to be fully developed, with future skills for asset management strategies lacking. With asset management becoming more complex, the skills gap is widening, Watson warned. Ruth Williams, water correspondent Matthew Humphrey, head of strategic investment management, Anglian Water

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