CMA final decision on water price control is ‘progress’, says Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice has responded to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) final decision on appeals by four water companies against their price control, known as PR19. This updates the provisional findings proposed last year.
Alistair Cromwell, Acting Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“This announcement shows the CMA has listened to the concerns of Citizens Advice, Ofwat and others who said it had initially been far too generous to water companies.
“Today’s announcement is progress and a better deal for consumers than the CMA originally proposed. However, the CMA should have gone further in cutting back the excess profits made by water companies.”
Background
- In response to its initial decision (September 2020) on the water companies’ appeals Citizens Advice stated the CMA had ‘bowed to industry pressure at the expense of consumers’
- In October 2020 Citizens Advice research showed UK consumers could lose out by £3.7bn if the CMA stuck with its original decision and the same approach was applied to energy network price controls as well.
Notes to editors
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