We think of water as free, falling from the sky in abundance. We all enjoy clean water at the turn of a tap and watch it drain away without a thought.
A barrel of oil (Brent crude) is €88. We are all conscious of the price of oil and energy and significant investment is spent producing oil and indeed in energy efficiency measures. But what is the price of a barrel of potable water (a litre of branded drinking water purchased in your local supermarket)? The answer is €88! Yet consumers’ and indeed investors’ attitude to both products is diametrically opposite.
While approaches to water service provision and regulation differ across the world, all customers want an efficiently run service that seeks to minimise price increases and provide good levels of customer service. The scale of the sector and its ownership is also an issue. For example, the water industry inEngland andWales consists of 23 fully privatised companies, with ten providing both water and sewerage services and 13 providing water only. In contrast, the water industry in Northern Ireland is not privatised but is managed by one agency, NI Water. Outside theUK, ownership and operation is normally organised in the form of a public utility, either as part of a municipal organisation or a publicly owned company.
On average across the developed world, water companies supply between 142,000 and 420,000 properties. However, inEnglandandWalesthe figure is much higher with medium sized companies servicing up to 1.7m properties. In Ireland in contrast, 34 local authorities are responsible for water and waste water treatment.
An independent assessment has been completed of the existing organisational arrangements in the water sector and a new national entity Irish Water will be set up. In addition, the sector will be regulated in the same manner as other utilities and strategically important services.
Are Irish companies equipped to take advantage of the $300 billion global market in water products and services?
This is a short extract from a research paper I have completed on business opportunities in water services.
