Office of Water Services


Office of Water Services - Definition

The Office of Water Services (Ofwat) is the body which is responsible for economic regulation of the privatised water industry in England and Wales. (The equivalent body in Scotland is the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland.) The Environment Agency is responsible for environmental regulation, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate for regulating drinking water quality. Ofwat is primarily responsible for setting limits on the price rises that water companies can impose, takng into account proposed capital investment schemes (such as building new wastewater treatment works) and expected operational efficiency gains.

Ofwat was set up in 1989 at the time when the 10 Water Authorities in England and Wales were privatised by flotation on the stock market. The resulting companies are known as the water and sewerage companies, to distinguish them from around a dozen smaller companies which only provide water services, which were already in private hands in 1989 (having remained in private ownership since their creation in the nineteenth century). The water only companies provide water to around 25% of the population in England and Wales.

Contents

1 Link

2 The water and sewerage companies

3 The water only companies

4 See also