> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.livemains.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Live Mains Round-Up: October 2026. - URL: https://www.livemains.com/live-mains-round-up-october-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-30T13:53:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T13:56:54.000Z - Description: Five stories from the water sector this month: Ofwat's draft £240m bill reduction, £771m of AMP8 contract awards, Thames Water's £4bn major projects framework, a 9km mains renewal in Sheffield and a warning on electrical skills. - Author: Gemma Walsh Woodcock - Tags: news round up, Amp8 Five stories from the water sector this month: Ofwat's draft £240m bill reduction, £771m of AMP8 contract awards, Thames Water's £4bn major projects framework, a 9km mains renewal in Sheffield and a warning on electrical skills. ### **Ofwat proposes £240m net bill reduction for 2025-26 performance** **Ofwat's draft decisions would cut bills by £240m net, with the largest penalties for Yorkshire Water and Thames Water. Final decisions due in December.** Ofwat has published its draft Outcome Delivery Incentive (ODI) determinations for 2025-26, the first year of AMP8\. They propose a net £240 million reduction in customer bills, of which £107 million will be returned in bills in 2027-28. ODIs are the rewards and penalties attached to companies' performance commitments, such as leakage and customer and business experience. A company that performs better than its performance commitment level may earn an outperformance payment. A company that performs worse may pay an underperformance payment. Yorkshire Water and Thames Water will see the largest underperformance payments, applied in April 2027\. The largest outperformance payments will go to Severn Trent Water and Northumbrian Water. Ofwat says the figures are draft and the effect on bills will vary by company and customer type. Final determinations are due by 15 December 2026 and will affect bills from 1 April 2027\. They will take into account final decisions on both ODI payments and the cost change process, which proposed £3.4bn of extra allowances in August. Ofwat said its full assessment of company performance against targets would be published in its Operational Performance Report later in October. *Source:* [*Ofwat press release, 14 October 2026*](https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/ofwat-to-consult-on-outcome-delivery-incentive-payments-for-customers/?ref=livemains.com) ### **£771m of AMP8 water contracts awarded in August** **Barbour ABI data shows 31 AMP8 water projects worth £771m reached contract award in August, with Kier, Cascade and Costain taking the largest share.** Thirty-one AMP8 water infrastructure projects worth a combined £771 million reached contract award in August 2026, according to analysis by construction data provider Barbour ABI. These projects accounted for 41% of all infrastructure contract awards that month. Two projects make up £515 million of the total. Kier was awarded a £265 million capacity upgrade at Thames Water's Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works in Hertfordshire, and Cascade Infrastructure the £250 million Bowland section of United Utilities' Haweswater Aqueduct in Lancashire, which includes 16.9km of replacement pipeline. Barbour ABI notes that Kier's Maple Lodge award currently covers the early contractor involvement phase, valued at £8.7 million. Other awards include £35 million at Yorkshire Water's Naburn Wastewater Treatment Works (Mott MacDonald Bentley), £25 million at Southern Water's Chichester Wastewater Treatment Works (Galliford Try) and £18 million of storm overflow storage for Anglian Water at Walton-on-the-Naze (Barhale). Costain won the most individual projects: 13, worth around £130 million, through Thames Water's Wastewater Asset Assurance Programme, [covered in last month's round-up](https://www.livemains.com/live-mains-round-up-september-2026/). *Source:* [*Barbour ABI, 30 September 2026*](https://barbour-abi.com/771m-in-awards-for-amp8-water-infrastructure-projects/?ref=livemains.com) ### **Thames Water appoints nine teams to £4bn major projects framework** **Thames Water has awarded places on its £4bn Major Projects Framework for AMP8 and AMP9 to nine teams, including Kier, Costain, Murphy and Galliford Try.** Thames Water has published a contract award notice for its Major Projects Framework AMP8/9, with an estimated total value of £4 billion excluding VAT. The notice awards nine contracts to 12 companies, some of them working as joint teams. The suppliers are Amentum Enterprise Asset Solutions, BAM Nuttall, Barhale, Binnies UK, Cadagua, Costain, Ferrovial Construction (UK), Galliford Try Construction, J. Murphy & Sons, Kier Infrastructure and Overseas, Mott MacDonald Bentley and Taylor Woodrow Infrastructure. The framework covers the development and delivery of major water and wastewater capital projects across Thames Water's operational area. Individual projects will be awarded through project-specific contracts for pre-construction services, engineering, construction and related works. It is expected to run from 4 November 2026 to 31 March 2030, with a possible extension to 31 March 2035\. That would take it beyond AMP8 and into AMP9. *Source:* [*Find a Tender contract award notice, 23 October 2026*](https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100737-2026?ref=livemains.com) ### Yorkshire Water invests £3.6m in Sheffield mains renewal” **Yorkshire Water and M Group are replacing around 9km of ageing water mains in Wharncliffe Side and Brightholmlee, Sheffield.** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/bd/edbdeed6-c5ca-4cbd-bca9-35dd600f6a58/content/images/2026/11/Yorkshire-water-rehad-story.png) Blue pipe in a road trench. Credit: Yorkshire Water Yorkshire Water is investing £3.6 million scheme to replace around 9km of clean water mains in Wharncliffe Side and Brightholmlee, Sheffield. The work is being delivered by M Group. Yorkshire Water says the area was identified as a high priority after repeated failures in some locations. The new mains are intended to improve the resilience and reliability of the network and reduce the risk of bursts and supply interruptions. Most of the work will be carried out under temporary traffic management. Yorkshire Water says it is working with the highways team to limit disruption and is keeping residents and businesses informed. The scheme is part of Yorkshire Water's £8.3 billion investment programme for 2025 to 2030, which includes £406 million to replace more than 1,000km of clean water mains across the region. *Source:* [*Yorkshire Water news release, 22 October 2026*](https://www.yorkshirewater.com/news-media/news-articles/2026/yorkshire-water-36m-upgrade-to-replace-water-mains-in-wharncliffe-side-and-brightholmlee/?ref=livemains.com) ### **ECA warns electrical skills shortage could slow water infrastructure upgrades** **The Electrotechnical Contractors' Association says an ageing workforce and site-readiness gaps are holding back water sector delivery.** The Electrotechnical Contractors' Association (ECA) has warned that a shortage of specialist electrical skills in the water sector could slow vital infrastructure upgrades. The warning follows an ECA roundtable with contractors, training specialists and water sector representatives. Pressures identified include an ageing workforce, strain on apprenticeship pipelines and competition for labour from higher-paying sectors. Hazardous work, water industry requirements and sector-specific standards were named as pinch points. The ECA says new entrants often lack the practical experience needed for complex industrial sites, so employers carry the cost of additional site-readiness training. Contractors also face barriers to entry, including limited awareness of the Water Industry Mechanical and Electrical Specifications (WIMES) and differing accreditation expectations. Proposed next steps include better careers guidance, closer engagement between employers and training providers, promotion of water careers and sharing good practice across the supply chain. The ECA plans to work with water sector bodies, including the Pump Centre. Gary Parker, Deputy Director of Technical at the ECA, said: "The water sector cannot deliver safe, reliable infrastructure without competent electrical contractors." *Source:* [*ECA news release, 1 October 2026*](https://www.eca.co.uk/news/2026/oct/water-sector-electrical-skills-crisis-threatens-critical-infrastructure-delivery,-eca-warns?ref=livemains.com)