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This week's wrap: Long-awaited plans show path ahead for water and energy
Utility Week's Deputy Editor Rob Horgan rounds up last week's biggest news, including the publication of the eagerly-awaited water white paper and the Warm Homes Plan.
23 January 2026
You wait months for a major government announcement and then two whoppers land on consecutive days. In years gone by you’d compare them to London buses, but I’m informed that they’re more reliable these days.
The first eagerly-awaited announcement to finally see the light of day this week was the water white paper. Now titled The New Vision for Water, the paper sets out the government’s response to the Independent Water Commission’s root and branch review of the sector. It includes the proposal which, if pushed through, could force all water companies to draw up individual contingency plans setting out how their networks would continue to operate in the event of special administration.
- Rob Horgan, Deputy Editor,
Utility Week & Utility Week Live
The paper also reveals a shake up to the price control process for PR29; signals the government’s intention to appoint a chair-designate for the new ‘super’ regulator; and confirms there will be more leniency over performance penalties. That is in addition to announcements made on the eve of the report’s publication, which revealed the introduction of ‘no notice’ inspections; regular ‘MOT’-style checks on water infrastructure; and the incorporation of a chief engineer role within the industry’s new ‘super’ regulator.
The impact of the impending overhaul was also the focus of a Public Accounts Committee meeting this week, with interim Ofwat CEO Chris Walters admitting that uncertainty is leading to an exodus of staff at the regulator with more than 100 roles currently unfilled.
The other delayed publication to be put out this week was the government’s Warm Homes Plan. Originally slated for publication in October last year, the £15 billion plan to keep the UK’s population warm has largely been met with optimism, particularly by those with a vested interest in the solar and batteries. That is largely due to an increase in government targets with ambitions for a threefold increase in the number of homes with solar panels by 2030.
The plan was not so warmly welcomed by heat pump advocates however, with the government significantly watering down its ambition to rollout the low-carbon heating source. The plan confirms that the government has finally given up any hope of installing 600,000 heat pumps per annum by 2028. Instead, a new target of reaching 450,000 installations every year by 2030 has been set.
The plan also produced grumbles from the gas lobby, with no support outlined for hybrid heating; little ambition shown towards the role of biomethane; and an almost total blackout on the role hydrogen could play in heating homes.
The fallout from both papers will no doubt be a hot topic at Utility Week Live in May, with several sessions scheduled across the two-day event focussing on regulatory reform in water and home heating, as well as a sharp focus on the future of the gas sector.
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