Where now for the UK Water and Regulated Networks?
With the publication of their methodologies, Ofwat and Ofgem are advancing towards the PR19 and RIIO-2 price reviews. The regulators have signalled that companies will face lower allowed returns and more challenging efficiency and performance targets. Amongst many other proposed changes, companies face potentially greater scrutiny of their capital structures.
Why Attend?
The half-day conference is designed for experts in the sector: investors, issuers, intermediaries as well as regulators and professional services.
<div class="credit-themes-container dynamic"><div class="custom-fa-wrapper"><div class="custom-item-holder"><div class="custom-icon-fa"><br></div><div class="custom-item-text-holder"><h1 class="custom-item-heading alt white">Discover</h1><p class="custom-item-para alt white">Discover fresh perspectives on the credit markets</p></div></div><div class="custom-item-holder"><div class="custom-icon-fa"><br></div><div class="custom-item-text-holder"><h1 class="custom-item-heading alt white">Meet</h1><p class="custom-item-para alt white">Meet senior Moody's Analysts and market experts</p></div></div><div class="custom-item-holder"><div class="custom-icon-fa"><br></div><div class="custom-item-text-holder"><h1 class="custom-item-heading alt white">Network</h1><p class="custom-item-para alt white">Network with key regulated utilities sector market participants.</p></div></div></div></div>
Agenda
08.30 Registration and Coffee
09.00 Welcome Address
Neil Griffiths-Lambeth, Associate Managing Director, Infrastructure Finance, Moody’s Investors Service
09.10 Why change is needed
Jonathan Brearley, Executive Director, Systems and Networks, Ofgem
Rachel Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer, Ofwat
09.50 Does this go far enough?
John Penrose, MP, Weston-super-Mare
10.05 Innovative or unpredictable: Are regulators in danger of crossing the line?
Panel discussion led by Neil Griffiths-Lambeth, Associate Managing Director, Infrastructure Finance, Moody’s Investors Service
Jonathan Brearley, Executive Director, Systems and Networks, Ofgem
Rachel Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer, Ofwat
Keith Harris, NED and Corporate Advisor, Lorraine House
Orlando Finzi, Credit Analyst, M&G
11.00 Coffee & Networking Break
11.30 Financial engineering: Problem or Solution?
Graham Taylor, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Infrastructure Finance, Moody’s Investors Service
Stefanie Voelz, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Infrastructure Finance, Moody’s Investors Service
12.00 The CMA Appeals Process: Does it Still Provide an Anchor?
Prof Jon Stern, Centre for Competition and Regulatory Policy, City University and former CMA panel member
12.30 Special Administration: A Credible Solution?
Mark Nuttall, Partner, Linklaters
13.00 Closing Remarks
13.05 Networking & Lunch
14.00 Conference End
Speakers
Guest Speakers
Jonathan Brearley
Executive Director, Systems and Networks
Ofgem
Ofgem
Executive Director, Systems and Networks
Jonathan Brearley
Jonathan Brearley is Executive Director, Systems and Networks at Ofgem. He leads on the evolution, funding and strategy for the UK energy system and the development of the wider market for gas, electricity generation and network services. In particular, he oversees work on the RIIO price controls, network charging, the role of the system operator and the regulatory structure for networks and the wholesale market. He has awide ranging energy sector experience, having led major reforms through Electricity Market Reform and as the Strategy Director for the Department ofEnergy and Climate Change. Prior to this he led the Office of Climate Change reporting to 6 Government Departments on climate change strategy and delivery. Before working in energy, Jonathan was a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, focusing on a range of domestic policy issues including taxation, pensions and local services.
Before being appointed as Ofwat’s Chief Executive, Rachel spent 12 years at Ofgem. Most recently she was Senior Partner for Consumers and Competition and an executive member of the Ofgem Board. During her time there she was also Partner for Distribution, leading the Electricity Price Control Review and introducing the Low Carbon Network Fund. Before joining Ofgem, Rachel worked as a consultant advising public and private sector organisations around the world on energy strategy and policy.
Keith Harris is owner of Lorraine House, a company that primarily provides private strategic policy and investment advice in the utilities sector. He is also a Director and Audit Committee Chair of South Staffordshire Water, an Industry Partner at AIP, an associate of OXERA, and a NED at the Ervia the owner of Gas Networks Ireland, Irish Water and Aurora Telecom. His early career was at Wessex Water where he became deputy CEO, CFO, and held a series of senior management and Board positions between 1995 and 2010. During that time he was instrumental in arguably making Wessex Water one of the most highly regarded, efficient and innovative companies in the sector. He was the global Head of Regulation for ENRON/Azurix working in M&A and on regulatory policy around the world. Latterly he played a central role in the restructuring Azurix, disposing of its assets, and unwinding its multiple financial instruments as ENRON collapsed.
Orlando Finzi joined M&G Investments in 2004 as a Senior Credit Analyst, Director of Fixed Income. With over 22 years of research and financial markets experience Orlando is currently responsible for utilities, waste, renewables and power research and recommendations across the public investment-grade and high-yield markets both domestically and internationally. His sectors form a significant share of the main corporate bond indices and include issuances that vary from vanilla and hybrid bonds to the more rigorous project and structured financings. He has additionally covered the oil & gas, forestry, paper/packaging and shipping sectors with M&G Investments.
Prior to M&G and since 1995, Orlando worked at Credit Suisse Financial Products in derivatives credit risk management and at Credit Suisse First Boston in sell-side credit research covering the utilities and oil & gas sectors. Orlando graduated with a degree in Economics from University College London.
Mark is a finance partner at Linklaters LLP with a focus on infrastructure and utilities covering public capital markets, including whole-business securitisations, banking and private finance, derivatives and direct financing. Mark has advised on the majority of the headline infrastructure and utilities acquisitions, financings and re-financings in the UK and Europe in recent years.
John was elected MP for Weston-super-Mare in 2005, winning the seat from the Liberal Democrats. In 2017 he achieved the biggest share of the vote in his constituency since 1983. His campaigns to make Britain’s economy work for the many, not the few, include the Energy Price Cap (recently successful); making housing cheaper to own or rent by allowing urban owners and developers to Build Up Not Out, and to Make Builders Build; making Britain’s economy more generationally-just and socially-just by creating a UK Sovereign Wealth Fund and a legally-binding Fiscal Rule; and reforming formerly-nationalised utilities (eg energy, telecoms, water, rail) to put customers in charge, rather than politicians, bureaucrats or regulators instead.
Centre for Competition and Regulatory Policy, City University and former CMA panel member
Centre for Competition and Regulatory Policy, City University and former CMA panel member
Jon Stern
Jon Stern is an Honorary Visiting Professor in the Department of Economics at City University, London. Jon Stern was a UK Competition Commission and then a CMA (Competition and Market Authority) Panel Member from 2013-18. While at the CMA, Jon was a Panel Member on several regulatory appeals From 2005-13, Jon was a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Competition and Regulatory Policy (CCRP), City University. He was one of the CCRP founder organisers. Previously, from 1999-2004, Jon was an Associate Director of the Regulation Initiative at the London Business School. Jon is a long-time Associate Researcher at EPRG (Energy Policy Research Group) of the University of Cambridge. He also an associate at CARR, London School of Economics.
Neil Griffiths-Lambeth is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Infrastructure Finance team, based in London, and responsible for the rating agency’s coverage of regulated and unregulated utilities across EMEA. Over the course of his career at Moody’s, Neil has acted as lead analyst for a broad range of utilities and transport infrastructure companies. He has followed the UK water sector since 2008, writing extensively on regulatory and other developments and playing a key role in developing the rating agency’s strong reputation in the
sector. As an authoritative independent commentator, Neil is a frequent speaker at conferences and other events
Stefanie Voelz is a senior analyst in Moody’s EMEA Infrastructure Finance team, based in London. She is responsible for a portfolio of regulated utilities in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Eastern Europe. Over an extended career in credit, Stefanie has developed in-depth knowledge of utilities and transportation infrastructure sectors. She is also an expert in the credit assessment of highly-covenanted financing structures in the regulated utility space as well as project financings. Stefanie is Moody’s lead analyst covering UK Water and has published extensively on the sector. She is the lead author of Moody’s Rating Methodology for Regulated Water Utilities, published in December 2015. Stefanie is also one of Moody’s lead commentators on the European regulated networks.
Graham Taylor is a senior analyst in Moody’s EMEA Infrastructure Finance team, based in London. He is responsible for a portfolio of regulated and unregulated utilities in the United Kingdom. As a senior member of the analytical team, Graham has contributed to and/or coordinated a number of publications, in particular on energy market issues, and is a frequent speaker at investor events.
Prior to joining Moody’s in 2015, Graham was City Advisor to Ofwat, the English and Welsh water regulator, through the 2014 Price Review. He was previously an equity portfolio manager at Legal & General, where he managed long-only and long/short funds and was responsible for coverage of UK utilities, transport and leisure, and health care.
Graham started his career in the investment banking division of Credit Suisse in New York. He is a graduate of Queen’s University, Canada, and is a CFA charterholder.