Utility Week deputy editor Rob Horgan rounds up the week's biggest news, with calls for reform dominating the headlines in both water and energy.

It’s been a week dominated by calls for reform across the utilities sector (that’s reform with a small ‘r’, predominantly).

The biggest call for change – and perhaps the most surprising – came in the form of the Welsh Government’s green paper, responding to the Independent Water Commission’s (IWC’s) root and branch review of the water sector. Its contents certainly raised more than a few eyebrows, with the administration not afraid to push back against recommendations made by Sir Jon Cunliffe and his commissioners.

The headline news was that the Welsh Government has no intention of creating a ‘single’ water regulator for the country, as the IWC had proposed. The green paper also casts doubt on the IWC’s proposal to streamline nine planning documents into two overarching publications; raises serious concerns with the IWC’s recommendation for compulsory smart metering; and sets out an alternative approach to system planning.

The spotlight has also centred firmly on reforms in the energy sector during the past week. Our Digital Weekly edition leads on Ofgem’s new rules for heat networks, examining whether the raft of requirements are enforceable. And it looks at possible changes the incoming flexibility commissioner could make to the Clean Flexibility Roadmap.

There have also been calls for changes to the smart meter rollout and agitations for the boiler upgrade scheme to undergo an overhaul. Meanwhile it’s a case of back to the future in the energy retail market with regulation bosses at both Octopus and So Energy calling on Ofgem to revert to its old ways when it comes to tracking competition in the market.

Reform, both with a little and a big R, will be a common theme running across Utility Week Live’s seven content stages in May, with the upstart party’s deputy leader and energy spokesperson Richard Tice lined up for a grilling on the keynote stage.

To view the full lineup of keynote speakers announced earlier this week and to book your place today, click here.
 

29 January 2026

Utility Week deputy editor Rob Horgan rounds up the week's biggest news, as industry figures begin to poke holes in both the water white paper and the Warm Homes Plan and the energy sector readies itself for government’s review of Ofgem.

As the old adage goes, ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show comes the dust cart’. The utilities sector has felt a bit like that this week, following the double-serving of major announcements in the form of the Warm Homes Plan and the water white paper which arrived the week before.

With the dust settling on both announcements, the initial dose of excitement has been tempered by an equal measure of disappointment by industry representatives. The focus this week switching from what has been committed to, to what is missing from both plans.

On the warm homes front, there is a growing angst that the government has snubbed hybrid heat pumps as a possible solution to its electrification ambitions. Many commentators have pointed to the success of the Dutch electrification rollout, which has been boosted by support for hybrids, as model which should have been replicated.

Meanwhile, scant detail in the water white paper beyond headline announcements has thrown up a series of unanswered questions: When will anything get done? Why don’t we have a shadow regulator yet? And who is in charge of PR29? To cite just three.

Another area of the white paper which has been questioned is around the government’s proposal to introduce so-called ‘MOT-style checks’ on water company assets. Anglian Water’s head of strategic asset planning Geoff Darch derided the government’s much-hyped plans – and instead demanded more investment – during an appearance in front of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee this week.

While the fallout from both plans continues, attentions are also starting to turn to announcements yet to come. Primarily, the government’s review of Ofgem, publication of which is almost a year late. Two former regulators gave their thoughts on what the review – which we understand is imminent – could mean for the future of energy regulation.

Also looking to the future, there have been several forward-looking announcements made in the past seven days including Ofgem opening its AI sandbox; Elexon appointing its Flexibility advisory board; and DESNZ confirming the extension of the Warm Home Discount until the end of the decade.

The future of both water and energy regulation will be key pillars running through the content at Utility Week Live in May. Register for your place today by clicking here.

 

23 January 2026

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.

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.

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. 

To see all this content with your industry colleagues, register for your place today by clicking here.