MOSL – the private company set up by Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, and United Utilities – has started the private procurement for the central IT systems and the first submissions are expected in July.
The tender process is drawing on the rules and processes being developed by Open Water.
MOSL has also sent out updated articles of association, which had to be changed to allow it to lead the private procurement process.
The progress will come as a relief to the industry, which has seen the market opening programme best by wholesale changes twice since August last year.
In February, Ofwat appointed a new director for market opening in the second major overhaul of its plans, abandoning a scheme to appoint the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, led by Alan Sutherland, to oversee the programme, after it was voted down by the Scottish regulator’s board.
The first change came in August 2014 when the regulator wound down Open Water Markets Limited (OWML) and brought the programme to open the water market to competition for non-domestic customers by 2017 back in house.
Earlier this month, Utility Week exclusively revealed Ofwat named the new director for the programme as Adam Cooper, who will lead the market opening programme, and report directly to the regulator’s chief executive Cathryn Ross.