Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/271780
UtILItY WEEK | 7th-13th March 2014 | 9 Interview D an Rogerson is in a hurry. The water minister, freshly promoted from the Liberal Democrat back- benches, has had a challenging start to his tenure, thanks to the floods. What should have been a comfort- able "getting to know you" period has instead been char- acterised by a hostile media (the Sunday Mirror dubbed him the "invisible minister" for his low profile during the floods) and some tricky questions in the House of Com- mons, deputising for environment secretary Owen Pater- son (on sick leave thanks to an ill-timed detached retina). So as Utility Week arrives at the headquarters of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a long-awaited slot with the minister, it's no surprise to be kept in a nearby waiting room as he finishes up a phone call. Ushered into his presence, it's soon clear there's no time for small talk, and it's straight down to the serious business of the Water Bill (he stands by it), retail exit (there won't be one), and the price review (Ofwat is spot on). First up, the floods, which were extraordinary this winter not so much for their severity as their frequency. Does the minister expect more extreme weather events, and are the water companies ready? "I'm not going to claim to he able to predict the weather and what will happen next year," he replies, "but we do seem to be having more extreme events and we have to make sure that we are resilient in what we're doing." He refers to the new primary duty of resilience being placed on Ofwat by the Water Bill, saying: "During the recent events I've been in touch with the DWI [Drinking Water Inspector- ate] and also direct with a number of water companies about the situations and the threats to their infrastruc- ture and what they're putting place to deal with that. I was very impressed with how they rose to the chal- lenge to maintain service to customers in terms of water supply." Rogerson acknowledges the problems with sewer flooding that have arisen during the floods, and the complications caused by the complex web of responsi- bilities between water companies, local authorities and the Environment Agency. Does this need another look? "There are discussions between local authorities and water companies about who has responsibilities for what during the clean-up and the restoring of services. I don't think we need to necessarily bring in a whole new set of regulations, but of course we are having a 'lessons learned' exercise that will be led by Oliver Letwin, and if that's an issue that comes up specifically in that, we'll review it at that point." He is vague on the detail of the lessons learned, and the role that water companies will play. He says Letwin will "potentially" be talking to the companies – or he will. This would be welcome, as the industry speaks well of Rogerson. "He's someone you can do business with," said a company insider. "He listens to both sides, he's sensible and pragmatic and open to seeking a tactical