Thames Water - comment

Ofwat has agreed to postpone the referral of the price review decision to the CMA until October 22nd. According to the regulator, the three parties are in constructive negotiations. However, all timelines are likely to be adjusted as the UK government launches (today) a formal consultation into a regulatory overhaul. Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England who had been commissioned by the government to review the water sector, has presented his report’s main recommendations, including for a new regulator to replace Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. This had generally been the request for a while, but it could happen sooner now than we thought.