The OFAT new water plan stores a trouble

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The besieged water sector in England is Withdraw all stations To attract investors, ensure revenues and dam risk.

Offaat water regulator wants to attract 50 billion pounds from investments for new infrastructure projects. Instead of getting auxiliary tools for more debts – and adding the cost directly to customer bills – such projects are presented to separate the tender. This means that the third parties will design this new infrastructure, building and financing it and may manage this new infrastructure, and costs will be recovered through additional fees on customer bills outside the process of reviewing regular prices.

The temptation of new supporters in the troubled water sector in the UK has some attractions. Public budgets for current service providers have already been rinsed. English facilities are already loaded at 74 billion pounds from borrowing after paying 83 billion pounds In profits over the past three decades.

While water bills decreased in real terms since 2010, as privatization has risen much faster than general inflation: 363 per cent, according to the parliamentary debate. Meanwhile, not only invested in; The new arrivals will make projects representing 36 years of tanks that bring to catch up with knees and other infrastructure.

The next investors – in some cases literally – will be placed literally – to the water. There are many organizers, including Offat, Drinking water inspector the Consumer Water Council The Environment Agency. Also in this mix: angry consumers, the creditors are equally happy and Water heads are well paid. A review It is scheduled to be completed soon by Sir John Conif, Chairman of the Independent Water Committee, standing to redraw the scene.

With the presence of the water sector in such a bad form, it may not seem to produce specific projects for new expatriates. The cost of projects will still need to be added to the bills. But the organizer’s hope must be that by competing with the offers of offers, it can reduce the cost of consumers.

The main problem is that this type of structure fragments is more system. In operational aspect, the disposal of the ownership of the specified assets may not be perfect when managing an integrated water system.

What is more, that those who win the bid, at least under one of the paths envisaged, will not be licensed directly by the organizer. Instead, it will be indirectly supervised by their agreement with the local tool, which will continue to carry the license. Investors can benefit from the financial magicians of lawyers and bankers to regulate contracts. But this still seems to be a recipe for conflict.

Not at least, it is difficult to back away from these main responsibilities for unlicensed service providers with the basic nature of the services concerned. Water still needs to get out of the taps. Any major incidents, which are the government and the organizers that the audience will definitely turn.

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