WET News

COMMENT "PR19 creates a common yardstick for water companies and contractors." James Brockett, Editor, WET News JUNE "In the last 16 months Interserve has suffered unprecedented levels of disruption and faced a number of significant challenges ... The turmoil of the past 16 months is behind us, but the hard work is not" - Interserve chairman Glyn Barker on a di cult period for the support services and construction company "The WRSE group has been at the forefront of regional water resource planning since 1996 and has considerably increased the collaboration between companies and addressed the resilience of the region" New Water Resources in the South East independent chair Simon Cocks on the challenges ahead 4% Veolia saw solid revenue growth in the UK for the ‚ nancial year. Europe exclud- ing France also grew by 6.9 per cent to €2,443 million. 14 The number of common performance commitments for water companies in PR19 "We've been running trials at a number of our sites – all with different and challenging issues – with promising results. In some instances the 'magic potion' has 'eaten' a channel through the fat, helping the sewers to flow freely again" Severn Trent's Celia Jackson on trials of a substance that could help tackle fatbergs 2/3 A report by Ofwat has suggested a concerted eŽ ort on demand management combined with new technology and innovations could reduce average water consumption per head by two-thirds over the next 50 years. T he core expectations that customers have of their water companies have not changed markedly in the three decades since the sector was privatised. People expect to be provided with high- quality water, for their supplies not to be interrupted, and for water not to be wasted via leaks. They expect their wastewater to be taken away in a way that does not pollute the environment, their lives and communities not to be disrupted by sewer € ooding or mains bursts, and they want the whole thing to be provided at a reasonable price and with a good, responsive customer service. But while these central expectations are familiar to everybody in the sector, Ofwat's PR19 price review puts them front and centre in a way that has never been more focused. Previous price reviews introduced the notion of performance commitments, and outcome delivery incentives (ODIs) derived from them, which reward or penalise water companies according to their performance against the commitments. But since the targets agreed by the regulator were bespoke to each water company, performance in some areas was measured in subtly di‰ erent ways and comparisons were sometimes diŠ cult. The ‹ nal methodology for PR19, published in December 2017, tackled this problem by revealing 14 common performance commitments, which all water companies in England and Wales must adhere to and which use a common language in terms of measurement and standards. Utilities will still have other targets and commitments that are unique to them – but these 14 goals are set to be the main yardstick for the industry over the 2020-25 AMP7 period and will provide an accessible picture of how the sector is performing. As long-term partners of the water companies, contractors will ‹ nd their performance measured against these commitments and in many cases will share the risks and rewards that are linked to them. So whether contractors are part of an alliance or are engaged in a more straightforward partnership model, the outcomes enshrined in the commitments will be vital for their everyday work. On page 8 of this issue you can read a fascinating viewpoint from Ben Bax, Customer Services Director at Kier about C-Mex, the new measure of customer experience that will replace SIM as the principal measure of customer service. The measure will ask a cross- section of customers for their views rather than concentrating speci‹ cally on those who have complained. For this reason, it puts the spotlight to an even greater extent on contractors, who when carrying out streetworks, for example, might be the only interface a customer has with their water company. At WET News, we'll be putting the water companies' performance commitments at the centre of our coverage over the next year. Watch this space. IN A NUTSHELL 2 WET NEWS JUNE 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk 150 Southern Water is to cut the number of staŽ in manage- ment and support roles as part of a series of changes designed to better serve customers. 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