Part 1: Connection charges for Developer Services in England - Root Cause Analysis (P&O)

The Supplier shall provide the following services to the Customer:

Developer Services Work - Part 1: Connection charges for Developer Services in England - Root Cause Analysis (P&O)

This study has arisen as a result of the variability of companies' connection charges when compared with each other across some typical development scenarios. Ofwat wants to understand the extent to which variations are driven by poor cost-reflectivity, methodological differences and other factors. This study follows from Ofwat's comparative analysis published in May 2020 and is complementary to our early work on PR24.

Ofwat wants to use this study to help inform our regulatory approach, to support developer services markets for the benefit of customers. Any changes we might make to our Charging Rules or price control framework would follow consultation with stakeholders.

Requirements

Prepare a Request For Information (RFI) from companies on their charges and costs, and other factors that may influence their charges;

 Analyse the information gathered (plus the comparative analysis from our May 2020 consultation) to gauge the extent to which each company sets its charges based on relevant costs, including the reasonable apportionment of contestable and non-contestable costs, and charges set by contractors;

 Identify the extent to which observed variations between companies' charges are driven by (a) poor cost-reflectivity, (b) methodological differences or (c) other factors;

 Develop recommendations on potential changes to Ofwat's charging rules and / or companies' approaches to setting charges that could improve transparency, predictability and fairness and support the developer services market.

Additional information: For further information, please contact procurement@ofwat.gov.uk