Most parents recognise or remember the plaintive cry of “are we there yet?” from their small children. Boredom and frustration play a part in prompting this question but, more fundamentally, it is a plea for information, indicative of a lack of understanding of where they are going and how they will get there.
As we approach the start of the journey that is AMP6, much of the water sector faces an unfamiliar landscape and might be forgiven for asking the same question. The shift to outcomes, introduction of totex and greater customer focus are concepts to be assimilated from the start of AMP6 and the looming spectre of retail competition will need to be negotiated along the way.
Changes to the way the industry is regulated have led to restructuring in many companies, and the continuing need to deliver further efficiencies has led to new ways of working, even where AMP5 arrangements have been extended. Not only will the journey be different, but the final destination is likely to be unrecognisable.
Focusing on outcomes should give water companies more flexibility in how they deliver their workload and lead to greater efficiencies. This will be enhanced by a greater appetite for innovation and the adoption of methodologies such as building information modelling (BIM), and by extending Bim principles into asset life-cycle information management (Alim). It is expected that Alim will inform better decision making in the construction of assets and in their operation and maintenance through to eventual decommissioning. Alim will also help to identify the best totex solutions and support their implementation by the supplier community, which has, until now, been incentivised and rewarded for lowest capital expenditure alone.
Perhaps the biggest change, however, will come as a result of the introduction of retail competition in 2017. As one senior water industry figure pointed out recently, there has proved to be room in the energy retail sector for no more than six main suppliers, and it seems reasonable to assume the water retail market will develop along similar lines. If that is the case, how likely is it that many of those major suppliers will be players that have little or no competitive retail experience and that have historically had a much smaller customer base, in other words, water companies that exist today?
It is possible that in the not too distant future, there will be only one or two water companies in the retail sector. If that happens, the sector will look very different.
Paul Mullord, UK director, British Water