Midlands utility announces major efficiency shake-up
Midland utility Severn Trent has announced a series of changes to its Wholesale business aimed at improving its asset management plan.
In advance of Price Review 19, which covers the regulatory period 2020 to 2025, the Coventry-based company is reshaping the Wholesale business to create three teams: Customer Delivery, Capital Delivery and Commercial, and Production.
The reorganisation will see the departure from the business of Managing Director, Wholesale Operations, Emma FitzGerald.
The company said that as a result of the reorganisation and the transition of her responsibilities, Ms FitzGerald would step down from the board in December 2017 and will leave the company next summer.
During this time, she will continue to report directly to Severn Trent CEO, Liv Garfield, and focus on developing the company’s capability to manage and integrate disruptive technological innovation.
In addition, the new Customer Delivery team will be led by Sarah Bentley, Chief Customer Officer, and will be focused on further improving customer experience.
The Capital Delivery and Commercial team will be led by Helen Miles, Chief Commercial Officer and will be focused on optimal delivery of asset construction schemes and driving further efficiencies in the supply chain.
The Production team will be focused on driving higher quality water production and waste water treatment and we will be starting an internal and external search for a candidate to head this team.
Severn Trent’s non-regulated business will continue to be led by Andy Smith, Managing Director, Business Services and will be expanded to include a new dedicated bio-resources business.
The company said the changes would better position it to drive upper-quartile performance across Water, Waste and Retail in the regulated business. It will allow Severn Trent to take advantage of competition in the bio-resources market from the Asset Management Plan for the regulatory period 2020 to 2025 (AMP7) in the non-regulated business.
Having delivered strong performance, including sector-leading customer Outcome Delivery Incentives, in the first two years of the current AMP, the company said it remained pleased with its current performance.
Ms Garfield said: “In the first two years of this regulatory period we have created a robust track record on a range of measures which benefit all our stakeholders and we are pleased with current performance.
“I am confident the changes we are announcing today will further enhance Severn Trent’s ability to deliver strong results this AMP, underpinning our ambitions for upper-quartile performance, and are aligned with our objective to drive further improvements in AMP7 and for the longer term.”
