Anglian Water has announced this morning that its Board has asked Ofwat to refer its PR19 Final Determination to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Ofwat’s Final Determinations were published on 16 December 2019.

Announcing the Board's decision, Chief Executive Peter Simpson said:

“The Anglian region faces specific challenges brought about by a changing climate and a population growing faster than almost anywhere else in the UK. Our plan aimed to address these challenges, and our customers wholeheartedly supported it. They want us to invest now, not wait. We also recognise that delaying now will mean that costs for customers in future will be much higher.

“Social and environmental needs are firmly embedded in our business purpose. We have a long term focus on improving the resilience of the region, and investing in infrastructure to cope with the impacts of climate change and population growth.

“As we do not believe the Final Determination enables us to meet these needs, we are making use of the next step in the regulatory process and asking the CMA to consider if the right balance has been struck between bill reductions and investment.

“Throughout the CMA process we will remain absolutely focused on continuing to deliver operational excellence and great service for our customers.”

Anglian Water is the largest water and water recycling company in England and Wales by geographic area, serving more than six million customers in the east of England and Hartlepool. The region is the driest in the country, with just 600mm of rain each year, and one of the fastest growing.

The water company’s business plan had proposed total investment of £6,460.5 million - Ofwat’s Final Determination offers £5,712.7 million, a gap of £747.8 million, with bills coming down by 10%.

Anglian Water’s investors are pension funds (including UK local authority pension funds), and long-term infrastructure investors and fund managers.