Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 15TH - 21ST DECEMBER 2017 | 7 Interview I t's a snowy day in London at the end of November. Richard Flint, the chief executive of Yorkshire Water, has brought the Northern weather with him. On a rare meeting with the press, Flint settles down in the bustling lounge of the Conrad St James hotel to explain why York- shire, normally one of the most reticent water compa- nies, has gone public with an ambitious plan to become a top quartile performer in the next two years. Flint has held the reins at Yorkshire Water since 2010, having risen up through the ranks since joining as a graduate trainee more than 20 years ago. In his seven years in the top job, he has seen steady performance, with the 2016/17 annual results showing an operating profit of £285.8 million, up from £275.2 million the previ- ous year. Through this time, Yorkshire has kept a low profile – like Flint himself, shying away from unnecessary pub- licity. But with the renationalisation of the water sector firmly on the public agenda, there can be no hiding from the spotlight for any of the companies. Hence Flint's decision to sit down today with Utility Week and explain the company's strategy, its recent decision to close its controversial Cayman Island offshore arrangement, and the very public nature of its performance commitments. There's no escaping the context. Pressure has been mounting on the water sector ever since nationalisa- tion was added into the Labour party's 2017 election manifesto at the eleventh hour. It may have been an unplanned move, but it was not an unpopular one, with one opinion poll suggesting that 83 per cent of the pub- lic back renationalisation. This startling turn of political events has caused water regulator Ofwat to up the ante on key messages it has been putting out for years – bang- ing the drum so hard on financial structures, transpar- ency and governance that companies have been le in little doubt the regulator means business. The response has been a flurry of announcements in recent weeks from water companies, Yorkshire among them. First up, though, is Ofwat's latest company monitor- ing framework (CMF) results, published on the morning of the interview. The CMF assess how well companies have explained and assured their information. Yorkshire was promoted to the "targeted" class of companies, from "prescribed" – a move which Flint says "fits the broader improvement narrative we're working to in the business". And so on to the performance commitments, which make impressive reading. Yorkshire's board, under new chairman Anthony Rabin since September 2016, has been doing some soul searching, or, as Flint says: "Speaking to lots of customers, in a structured way." This has triggered what Flint describes as a "reset". He says: "There's a real desire to move forward on the back of what customers are saying and not wait for PR19. We've taken some open decisions in order to drive performance into the top right hand box [upper quartile]." The company has pledged "dramatic reductions" in leakage – with actual figures to be confirmed shortly – as well as a 40 per cent drop in sewage escapes causing pol- lution; a 70 per cent drop in incidents resulting in inter- nal sewer flooding; and a massive two-thirds reduction

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