OFWAT

The Water Industry Act 1991 provides for the appointment of an independent Director General of Water Services. He considers whether the 25 water companies in England and Wales are carrying out their functions properly and sets the maximum charges that the companies can make for water.

The Director General’s primary duty is to make sure that the companies are able to carry out and finance their functions under the Water Industry Act 1991 (WIA91). He sets price limits that allow each company to do this while protecting the interests of customers. These price limits are reviewed every five years as set out in companies’ licences.

The most recent review of price limits was carried out in 2004. Each water company produced a final business plan setting out its preferred strategy in April 2004. Following consultations with all the stakeholder bodies, the Director General of OFWAT assessed the business plans and in December 2004 determined the price limits for each water company for the period from April 2005 to March 2010. Brief summaries of each water company’s final business plan are available on the OFWAT website http://www.ofwat.gov.uk . OFWAT also produced a report summarising the outcome of the Director General’s review of price limits: Future Water and Sewerage Charges 2005-10 – Final Determinations http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/Content/pr04FD

From 1 April 2006, the functions of the Director General transfer to the Water Services Regulation Authority.

Contact:

Office of Water Services
Centre City Tower
7 Hill Street
Birmingham
B5 4UA
United Kingdom

Telephone:

+44 (0)121 625 1300