Our proposed plan documentation

PR24 Business plan update – 27 March 2024

Since submission of our PR24 business plan to Ofwat in October 2023 covering investment proposals for 2025 to 2030, we have provided Ofwat with an updated version of our plan and specific data tables, reflecting:

• Changes to legal requirements, or clarifications of requirements and delivery deadlines; and
• Changes arising from queries put to us by Ofwat regarding our October 2023 plan.

Ofwat has asked companies to update the data tables within their plans to reflect these changes – we provided this to Ofwat on 25 January 2024. Ofwat intends to use this version of our data tables to assess our business plan for its draft determinations, due to be published in the summer as part of the PR24 process.

Our business plan now includes total expenditure of £14,198 million, up from £13,677 million in our October 2023 plan. Average annual customer bills are forecast to be £556.14 in real terms by 2030, slightly lower than £556.17 from our October 2023 plan. Ofwat's draft determinations will be based on this expenditure and these bills.

The main reasons for the change to our total expenditure for 2025-30 and the impact on annual customer bills is as follows:

1. Our latest view of Water Industry National Environment Programme requirements and delivery deadlines, resulting in an increase of £375m that includes:
   1. Costs for Pennington Flash that were not available at the time of our business plan submission (notification of this requirement came shortly before business plan submission); and
   2. Transferring the Manchester Ship Canal group of Biological Oxygen Demand schemes from DPC (Direct Procurement for Customers) delivery to in-house delivery. This does not change the anticipated cost, but means that United Utilities will procure and finance the solution rather than a third party;
2. An increase in expected costs of £102m to meet new Industrial Emission Directive standards, following Environment Agency clarification of compliance requirements;
3. Queries received from Ofwat on our October 2023 business plan (up until 08 January 2024), which added £8m totex, mostly due to the addition of our expected involvement in a water transfer scheme for Kielder; and
4. An expected reduction in tax payments, due to changes to capital allowances that were announced in the government’s 2023 Autumn Statement, whereby full expensing and first year allowances are now permanent, rather than just being applied in FY26. These tax changes act to reduce our required tax payments, which we plan to pass on to reduce the impact on customer bills, such that it offsets the bill increase that would otherwise arise from higher expenditure requirements.

Since these changes were submitted to Ofwat in January, some further changes – including changes in legal and regulatory requirements – will likely need to be reflected in the final determination. We are also discussing a number of matters with the EA, including a proposed alternative plan for investment at Davyhulme, which may reduce costs over 2025-30. These will be subject to scrutiny and refinement following the draft determination (expected June 2024) and before the final determination (expected December 2024).

PR24 Business plan update – 2 October 2023

We’ve built a plan for the next five years which has been shaped by, and adapted to meet, the diverse needs of the North West.

We’ve been listening to customers and communities right across our region to understand what really matters. What’s clear is that we need to improve services for customers and the environment. That’s why we're proposing the largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in over 100 years, to build a stronger, greener and healthier North West for everyone.

From this page you can view our proposed business plan in full and access the supporting evidence used in constructing the plan.

Thank you for all your feedback. We look forward to the opportunity of delivering this ambitious plan.

Our independent customer challenge group, YourVoice, has produced a report to Ofwat on the United Utilities draft business plan proposals for 2025-30 which can be viewed on the YourVoice website.  

For information on the Your Water Your Say customer engagement events please click here.