A draft Order which will transfer responsibility for delivering water services in the Province to a Government owned company was published for consultation this month. If the legislation goes ahead, the new company will be run on commercial lines and subject to utility regulation in a similar way to Scottish Water. The new company will take over delivery of water and sewerage services from the Northern Ireland Water Service, which is run by the Department for Regional Development (DRD), in April next year. The draft legislation is a key step in the long-term plan to put the Northern Ireland Water Service on a self-financing footing.
The Order will introduce some charges for domestic customers and establishes a new regulatory regime, which will include an economic and a customer service regulator. The Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation will be renamed the Authority for Utility Regulation, and will take responsibility for economic regulation, and the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland will look after customers' interests. Both regulators will report to the DRD.
