Statutory consultation on changing our Wholesale Charging Rules and Charges Scheme Rules to promote greater water efficiency

Overview

In this statutory consultation we are proposing small changes to our Wholesale Charging Rules to promote greater consideration of water scarcity and efficiency when setting wholesale charges. These changes correspond to the conclusions we set out in our May 2026 conclusions on promoting water efficiency in wholesale charges for business users. We are also proposing the same changes to our Charges Scheme Rules, to retain alignment with our Wholesale Charging rules.

We propose the following amendments to our Wholesale Charging Rules and Charges Scheme Rules:

• to clarify that long run costs include those associated with addressing water scarcity, and
• to allow differences in charging to be based on incentives to promote water efficiency and the associated environmental and wider societal benefits.

The amendments would apply from April 2027.