The regulator told stakeholders it would take “moderate steps, where the evidence supports them, changing incrementally”, and that there would be the chance to influence decisions along the way.
It confirmed it would set separate retail and wholesale price controls for the first time to take effect in 2015, but would not depart from the familiar five-year term.
Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn said the principles would “ensure that customers are at the heart of decisions”.
Ofwat has also published a discussion paper on what to count as a retail service, and therefore a contestable activity in the non-domestic market under development.
It named five retail activities and five more possible ones, from metering to handling customer-side leaks. In Scotland, all but meter ownership sit with the retailer, but some argue the wholesaler is better placed to handle certain elements.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 18 May 2012.
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