Full Description

In 1989, in England and Wales, there were 10 public sector regional water authorities and 29 statutory water companies. The regional water authorities had responsibility for the whole of the water cycle, while the statutory companies supplied water to about one quarter of the population of England and Wales. The Water Act of 1989 changed these arrangements. It privatized the 10 regional water authorities under a system of regulation based on control of price increases, administered through the Office of Water Services (OFWAT), with defined levels of service, and environmental regulation through 2 further new regulatory agencies, the National RiversAuthority and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The Act did not apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but it changed the statutory water companies by abolishing their former statutory controls and placing them under the new regulatory regime. The existing 29 statutory water companies raised their capital through the Stock Exchange, and were controlled financially before the 989 Act through limits on dividends; on transfers to reserve, and on carry forward on revenue account - a system which had much in common with the method of regulation of American utilities. By bring these companies under the same system of control as the newly privatized regional water authorities, the 1989 Act introduced some unforeseen complications into the privatization process.

Product Details

Published: 01/01/1993 ISBN(s): 0898677114 Number of Pages: 7File Size: 1 file , 330 KB