The long awaited bill will also include measures to make it easier for owners of small scale water storage to sell their water into the grid; changes to make it easier for water companies to fund the restoration of sustainable abstraction; changes to make it easier for developers to get new connections to water and sewerage; and a new duty for Ofwat to ensure resilience of supply.
Phippard confirmed that the final Water Bill would introduce water competition for business customers from 2017, and that the introduction of upstream competition would follow “three or four years later.” She also hinted at changes to the detail around upstream competition from the controversial draft Water Bill published last year.
Proposals included in the draft Water Bill included developing a competitive Anglo-Scottish retail market to allow non-household customers a choice of supplier. The government indicated a likely target date of April 2017 for market opening in England.