In an interview with Utility Week, Pamela Taylor revealed that Water UK has been “scenario planning” for both yes and no votes on EU membership in this parliament for some time.
Part of this planning has included “reopening our Brussels office” according to Taylor, and sending Water UK staff on secondment to other European water bodies such as EurEau.
As the prospect of a referendum draws closer, Taylor warned that her successor will need to “step up” activity which ensures the UK water sector maintains influence in decision making on the continent even if it is “further away from the table”.
“There will be an impact if there’s a yes vote and there’ll be impact if there’s a no vote,” said Taylor. “What might those impacts be and how will they affect the sector? What will the impacts be in existing EU directives and on future ones?”
In her interview with Utility Week, Taylor also shared thoughts on the prospect of market opening – “the greatest change to this sector that I’ve seen in my time” – and admitted that Water UK is now courting potential new competitors for non-domestic supply with a view to expanding its membership.
In late May, Water UK announced that SSE Water, a subsidiary of SSE, had joined the trade association, sparking speculation about the intentions of energy suppliers to enter the non-domestic water market.
Utility Week’s full interview with Pamela Taylor is available from Friday 19 June.