Utility Week Live 2026 brought together leaders from across the energy and water sectors to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of utilities. Three themes stood out: regulation, infrastructure delivery and the role of technology.
A highlight of the event was a session from Tim Jarvis, Interim CEO of Ofgem, who spoke about the importance of being a predictable regulator that enables growth. His observation that “we’re not doing enough of the flexibility we have” highlighted the opportunity for regulation to better support productivity and innovation across the sector.
This led into an interesting debate on whether current regulatory cycles remain fit for purpose. Opinions varied between shorter pricing cycles that offer greater flexibility and longer-term frameworks that provide certainty for major infrastructure investment.
Both Zoë Yujnovich, CEO of National Grid, and Mark Thurston, CEO of Anglian Water, reinforced the scale of the delivery challenge facing utilities. Rising energy demand, increasing infrastructure requirements and growing expectations from customers mean organisations must focus on prioritisation, resilience and long-term planning.
Another common message was the importance of technology, data and AI in helping utilities improve efficiency, accelerate delivery and enhance customer outcomes. Equally important will be stronger collaboration across supply chains to ensure the industry has the capability and capacity to deliver future investment programmes. Our key takeaway is that regulation will continue to evolve alongside the industries it serves. As utilities embrace digital transformation and new ways of working, we expect to see a greater shift towards outcome-based regulation that encourages innovation while delivering better outcomes for customers, communities and the wider economy.
