Investing in water and energy: What is government’s role in delivering infrastructure?

The UK needs a step change in infrastructure investment. This has clearly become critical in the energy and water sectors, which face the perfect storm of a changing climate, the shift to renewables, ageing infrastructure, and consumer concern about bills and environmental impact. Without change, these sectors could hamper the delivery of the government’s missions for growth, housebuilding and net zero.

This report looks at how the government and regulators can create the right environment for successful infrastructure investment in both water and energy. It builds on analysis and proposals already recently developed, such as through the Jon Cunliffe-led Independent Water Commission (IWC). But crucially, it takes a comparative approach, examining both energy and water to identify where approaches should be consistent across sectors, and where they should diverge, in ways that do not fully come to light if each sector continues to be reformed in isolation.