Competition and Regulatory Newsletter

Opening the floodgates? Gearing up for competition in the retail water market

On 1 April 2017 the non-household retail water market in England was opened to competition by Defra and Ofwat. This means that more than 1.2 million businesses, charities and public sector bodies can choose their water and wastewater retail services provider rather than having to purchase water services from their former regional monopoly incumbent. This article outlines the new legal and regulatory framework for the market and considers the strategic decisions that companies have already started to make, with some existing players either altering their service offerings to compete in the new market or divesting their non-household retail activities, and new competitors entering the market.

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