Ofwat boss in ultimatum on bills

The outgoing chief executive at Ofwat has warned the big water companies that it is “now time to deliver” for billpayers after today finalising the regulator’s approach to price negotiations.

Regina Finn is to be replaced by Cathryn Ross later this year, but has set up her successor with a tough bargaining position with water companies on how much they can charge their customers. The utilities must hand in their business plans for 2015-20 by December based on Ofwat’s thinking.

The regulator’s approach involves saving billpayers £2 billion over those five years through developments like making call centres more efficient. Ofwat is also looking for utilities to improve their record on water trading.