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Water Companies: Finance

Asked by Barry GardinerLabourDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 24 March 2026UIN 120291

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what analysis her department has undertaken to assess whether using Regulated Capital Value to measure water company values provides the most accurate measure of their value.

Answered by Emma Hardy

Regulatory Capital Value was originally set with reference to the equity value and debt levels of each water and sewerage company at privatisation. It has been updated by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) since and provides a proxy for the total value of the water industry’s equity and debt (otherwise known as ‘enterprise value’).

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