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utIlIty WeeK | 27th June - 3rd July 2014 | 9 Interview D raining sewers; siing sewage: water profession- als are used to taking on the jobs that no-one else wants to do. For the new chief executive of NI Water, this is as true as for those on the front line: Sarah Venning stepped up to be the interim chief executive from her previous role of director of customer delivery, while the job was externally advertised twice, with the board turning down six shortlisted applicants. Venning was finally appointed permanent chief exec- utive in April and she certainly seems happy about the new job today, as she welcomes Utility Week to her mod- est yet functional office, overlooking one of NI Water's treatment works in north Belfast. She's frank about the challenges she faces and the structural idiosyncrasies that dog NI Water. With rumours abounding that the Northern Irish government could be about to introduce charges for water for the first time and water company workers taking beatings in the street, it could be that things get worse before they get better. First, some history: domestic customers in Northern Ireland have never paid directly for their water. NI Water was formed in 2007 from the local water authorities. It is funded directly by government – to the tune of £277 mil- lion last year – and must compete for its cash with other public authorities such as health. It is regulated by North- ern Ireland's answer to Ofwat, simply called "the Regula- tor", yet still governed by corporate company codes – a mix of cultures that Venning calls "sub-optimal". NI Water hit its lowest point at the beginning of 2011, when chief executive Laurence MacKenzie resigned over the mishandling of a cold weather crisis that saw 450,000 lose their water supply. Before that, in 2010, chairman Chris Mellor, along with three other board members, was sacked amid controversy on how the company was awarding contracts. NI Water's first chief executive, Kath- ryn Bryan, quit in 2008 aer it emerged the company had miscalculated its projected income by £20 million. These fiascos perhaps explain why it was so difficult to find a new chief executive when Trevor Haslett stepped down last August, citing "personal reasons". NI Water has had five chief executives at the helm since 2007. Ven- ning was made permanent chief executive in April aer its initial recruitment campaign failed last October, when six shortlisted candidates were considered unsuitable for the £150,000 a year post. The company made its second attempt to recruit a chief executive in January, but no external candidate was chosen. Despite this, Venning does not see her role as a poi- soned chalice and says that stability will bring benefits. She didn't apply for the position the first time around because she "wasn't sure if the time was right", having been at the company for only three years. However, her opportunity to test drive the role in an interim capacity made it clear to her that she had the skills to succeed. "The staff are more than happy that they know who their CEO is, how their CEO thinks, and they are clear on their goals and directions and the place that we want to drive the organisation to," she says. So much for history. Now in post, Venning has two main areas of focus: the price review and the contro- versial possibility of introducing charges for water customers. NI Water is now at the negotiating table with the utility regulator for its third price control period, PC15, which is based on the Ofwat model for PR14 in England and Wales, but runs from 2015 to 2021. The company has