Ofwat publishes summary of review of the NAV market

Ofwat publishes summary of review of the NAV market

The water regulator in England and Wales, Ofwat, has today published the outcome of a review of the market for new appointments and variations (NAVs). NAVs enable a new entrant to apply to Ofwat to replace the incumbent as the monopoly provider of water and/or wastewater services for a specific site. As part of the review, Frontier produced a report for Ofwat looking into the market for NAVs. This study investigated how the NAV market is working and considers the extent to which any factors currently act to restrict, distort or prevent the market from achieving its full potential.

Ofwat outlines a number of actions to address the concerns raised by stakeholders. These include:

  • Reviewing policies and processes to minimise regulatory and administrative barriers
  • Consulting on changes to rules on new connection charging and on updating the guidance on bulk supply charging
  • Challenging the water sector to improve access to information and the delivery of services to NAVs

Ofwat will also be considering what further steps are needed to raise awareness about the NAV regime among developers and other regulators involved in the application process.

Frontier advises clients on a range of topics affecting the water sector, including regulation and competition issues and customer engagement.

For more information, please contact media@frontier-economics.com or call +44 (0) 20 7031 7000

 

Study of the NAV Market