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English and Welsh water companies perform as well or better than their international counterparts, according to a new survey published today by Ofwat. The latest 'International comparison of water and sewerage service 2001-02' report highlights that even with the higher levels of investment and customer service, England and Wales companies provide water and sewerage services at similar or better unit costs to water enterprises overseas. The Ofwat report compares the performance of regulated water and sewerage companies with water enterprises in Australia, Scotland, the Netherlands and the United States of America. The main findings in the report are:
Bill Emery, Ofwat's director of costs and performance, said: "The report shows that our incentive-based regime and comparative competition is serving water customers in England and Wales well. It is delivering improved services at lower cost, and enables us to identify poorly performing companies and so stimulate them to improve performance. "It is important that we also compare and contrast our water industry with water enterprises around the world so that we can place their performance in an appropriate international context." Notes to Editors: 1. The Director General of Water Services is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. He exercises his powers in a way that he judges will allow them to carry out their functions properly, and finance them. WaterVoice represents customers' interests. 2. Data in the report comes from a variety of sources including trade association publications and annual reports and accounts. Different definitions and assumptions in these sources mean that information is not completely comparable to what English and Welsh water companies submit in their June Returns. However, Ofwat considers it to be sufficiently comparable to allow general conclusions to be drawn. 3. Copies of the international comparisons report will be available from Ofwat's library (0121-625 1373) and on Ofwat's website, www.ofwat.gov.uk Media enquiries to Ofwat Press Office on: 0121 625 1416/1496/1442. Out of hours enquiries to pager: 08700 555 500 water 503/509.  | ||||||
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