The NAV Process
New Appointment & Variation
A NAV is a process managed by Ofwat. A variation of our licence is when we ask Ofwat to vary our appointments, so it can extend the areas we provide services to. We then become the new appointee and we have the same duties and responsibilities as the previous statutory water company. A NAV therefore involves us replacing another incumbent as the appointee for a specific area.
A developer can choose a new appointee for water or wastewater services or water and wastewater services at qualifying sites. Once they have changed their supplier to a new appointee, it will take over responsibility for providing those services to their site.
New appointees can either get water from their own resource, such as a borehole or buy it wholesale from another company. NAV’s treat the sewerage in their own plants or discharge it into another company’s sewers.
Icosa Water will discharge mostly into other company’s sewers which has to be negotiated and a bulk discharge agreement with the incumbent is entered into.
Our licence to provide water and wastewater services has been granted by the Secretary of State for the Environment. If you would like to find out more information about our licence and obligations, please visit Ofwat’s website.
Your customers
A NAV must ensure that its customers must be substantially ‘no worse off’ if they are supplied by a new appointee than if they were supplied by the existing appointee in that area. This means that the quality of service, the charges for water and sewerage services, must be the same, if not better.
Our charges can be found on our website and are updated annually on the 1st April. Our charges are approved by Ofwat. We cannot charge any more than the local incumbent for the services we provide.
Industry regulators ensure that we keep to the rules and meet our obligations as a licensed company. These regulators have powers to regulate new appointees as they do existing monopoly water companies. Ofwat has a legal duty to protect the interests of consumers, wherever appropriate by promoting effective competition.
Who regulates us?
- Defra
- Ofwat
- The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater)
- Environment Agency
- Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI)
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