Utility Week

U li es regula on is designed to create stability and consistency, for the benefit of consumers and investors alike. Changes to u li es' regulatory regimes are therefore disrup ve by nature, forcing companies to adapt work processes and repor ng prac ces – o en for myriad business ac vi es – and update investor understanding of any implica ons for their returns. Meanwhile, regulators must ensure the public can be confident that changes to regula on will maintain or improve the outcomes they receive from u li es, without any unintended consequences. To protect the stability of u li es regula on, UK regulators have tradi onally stood apart from the vola le poli cal realm, crea ng a buffer zone between short-term policy-making, and the longer-term requirements of a sector that broadly requires either the confidence of pa ent capital or clarity of opportunity for shorter-term growth. However, today's unique poli cal narra ve, combined with monumental macro-economic and environmental drivers for change, pose unprecedented challenges for the maintenance of regulatory stability, or even visibility of the direc on of travel. To ease the sector's transi on into an uncertain future, regulators across energy and water are tes ng the effec veness of principles or risk-based approaches to regula on. These are more flexible and be er suited to shi ing consumer and policy expecta ons, as opposed to hard and fast rules, which are eyed suspiciously for their ability to create cultures of compliance rather than problem solving. Elsewhere, economic regula on for monopoly u li es is increasingly incorpora ng measures to drive innova on, proof of customer value and long-term thinking. It is seeking new ways to emulate compe ve markets and ensure u li es plan today for a world that may be radically different in a decade's me. Some commentators are not convinced these new approaches to regula on are sufficient to address the volume and importance of changes affec ng the sector – from climate change to digi sa on. Labour's call for rena onalisa on, along with the fundamental systemic and ins tu onal overhauls to u li es market structures put forward by the likes of Dieter Helm, mean there are op ons on the table for a complete redesign of u lity regula on, and with it the ways in which companies understand their roles, responsibili es and opportuni es for profitability. To understand the outlook of u li es professionals on these ongoing and poten al influences over their regulatory regimes, U lity Week Live put the opinions and sen ments of its audience, and those of its sister brands U lity Week, WWT, WET News and Network, in the spotlight. In a survey exploring what senior management thought of the disrup ve factors assailing their sectors, we found that within U lity Week Live at the NEC on 22-23 May will be scru nising 'disrup on' in all its forms. Here, we list the top five disrup ve regulatory developments – iden fied by you. U t i l i t y W e e k L i v e P R E S E N T S 6 | 6TH - 12TH APRIL 2018 | UTILITY WEEK P R E S E N T S

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