AMP8: Why Water Utilities Need to Do Things Differently

As the water sector embarks on AMP8 on 1 April 2025, utilities across the UK face unprecedented challenges. Increased regulatory scrutiny, ambitious environmental targets, and rising customer expectations are converging at a time when traditional approaches to planning and delivery are showing their limitations.

The Challenge of Continuity vs. Change

Many water companies find themselves at a critical decision point: continue with the same tools and processes that barely got them through AMP7, or embrace fundamentally different approaches that can drive better outcomes. This dilemma mirrors a common organisational challenge: some utilities are stuck with outdated methods (like trying to move forward on square wheels), while others are rushing ahead without pausing to implement necessary improvements ("Can't stop. Too busy! Going to AMP8!"). Both approaches risk sub-optimal performance during this crucial regulatory period.

Why AMP8 Demands a Different Approach

AMP8 differs significantly from previous regulatory periods in several key ways. The increased focus on long-term resilience means short-term fixes that "kick the can down the road" are no longer acceptable to regulators or shareholders. Higher environmental standards require innovative thinking beyond traditional solutions. Greater investment scrutiny means regulators expect clear evidence that investment decisions are optimal across multiple criteria. Finally, the multi-AMP planning horizon demands that decisions made today must demonstrably support objectives extending beyond 2030.

These challenges cannot be effectively addressed with approaches that were barely sufficient for AMP7.

Doing Different with BMA's Decisio™ Platform

At BMA, we've developed Decisio™ specifically to help water utilities take an unconventional and more holistic approach to AMP8 planning and delivery.

Adaptive Long-Term Planning

Unlike traditional planning tools that create static investment plans, Decisio™ enables truly adaptive planning. This means utilities can evaluate investment options against multiple future scenarios and quantify resilience across different time horizons. When new information emerges, plans can be rapidly updated while still maintaining the balance between short-term delivery requirements and long-term objectives.

Uncovering Overlooked Options

One of the most powerful capabilities of Decisio™ is its ability to help water companies discover solutions that might otherwise remain hidden. The platform identifies non-traditional approaches to meeting regulatory requirements and allows companies to evaluate innovative solutions alongside conventional options. By quantifying benefits across multiple stakeholder perspectives and testing the robustness of different solution types against future uncertainties, Decisio reveals options that traditional approaches might miss. 

Decisio™ provides unprecedented visibility into how investment plans will perform:

• Track performance against regulatory targets in real-time
• Predict potential delivery issues before they impact performance
• Identify optimisation opportunities within existing plans
• Demonstrate to regulators and shareholders that decisions are robust

 

Future-Proofing Decisions

Perhaps most importantly, Decisio™ helps water companies avoid "kicking the can down the road" by ensuring that short-term decisions support long-term objectives. The platform evaluates decisions against multiple AMP periods and identifies potential future constraints created by near-term choices. By quantifying the long-term cost implications of different approaches and creating a traceable record of decision rationale, Decisio ensures that today's decisions don't compromise tomorrow's performance.

Real-World Impact: How Clients Are Doing Different

Forward-thinking water utilities are already leveraging Decisio™ to approach AMP8 differently. The patterns of improvement are clear:

Improved regulatory engagement: One user has significantly strengthened their regulatory relationship by demonstrating more robust decision processes and greater long-term planning visibility.

Enhanced operational resilience: Several utilities have used Decisio™ to identify critical weak points in their networks that wouldn't have been revealed through traditional planning approaches.

New Decisions Lead to Better Outcomes

As water utilities navigate the challenges of AMP8, the ability to make fundamentally different decisions will increasingly separate industry leaders from those who struggle. BMA's Decisio™ platform provides the capabilities water companies need to approach this regulatory period differently - not just by implementing new software, but by enabling a completely different approach to planning and decision-making.

The choice is clear: continue with approaches that barely delivered for AMP7, or embrace the tools and processes that can drive outperformance in AMP8 and beyond.

To learn more about how BMA's Decisio™ platform can help your organisation take a different approach to AMP8, request a demonstration today.