City analysts said they still expect takeover deals in the utilities sector despite the current regulatory review in the water sector, according to the London Evening Standard (LES).

Westminster Labour Councillors have written to Ofwat to urge the regulator to reject Thames Water’s application to increase prices by 8% for 2014/15.

Thames Water has asked Ofwat to consider increasing the limits on the prices it can charge its customers.

Ofwat has assigned each water company a senior member of its staff to be a primary point of contact on issues related to the upcoming price review (PR14) as part of its communication programme.

CentreForum is calling for the imposition of a levy on highly geared water companies as a measure to get a better deal for consumers.

In an Expert Focus article for WaterBriefing, Chris Phillips, Marketing Director at UK-headquartered i2O Water, calls for radical restructuring and de-regulation of the UK water sector to drive innovation.

New proposals to streamline the processes for businesses appealing a decision by an economic regulator or competition authority have today been announced by Business Minister Jo Swinson.

According to figures published by the Cabinet Office last week, water industry regulator Ofwat was the slowest of all non-departmental agencies to respond to enquiries – last year it only managed to reply to 39% within its target of 10 working days.

Increasing the proportion of metered homes from 30 per cent to 56 per cent by 2020 is one of Thames Water’s targets as it invites customers to comment on its draft business plan for the next price review period beginning 2015.

Water UK, the body which represents the UK water and wastewater companies at national and international, has flagged up a number of challenges for the regulator to consider in three discussion papers on financing the water sector’s AMP6 programme.