Negotiated Settlements and Customer Engagement in UK Utility Regulation: Evidence from Airports, Water and Energy

Stephen C. Littlechild, Harry Bush, Alan D. A. Sutherland, Gavin Knott and Andrew Walker

Cambridge Working Papers in Economics from Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge

Abstract: Negotiated settlement has long been common in North American utility regulation but has played only a limited role in the United Kingdom. This paper looks at what can be learned from UK experience in airports, the Scottish water sector and energy networks, drawing in particular on presentations at a Cambridge seminar in March 2026. Airports show that direct bargaining can improve issue definition and customer focus even without full agreement. The Scottish water sector remains the clearest UK example of a near-negotiated settlement affecting the substance of the outcome. Energy networks have moved much further towards organised customer engagement than towards bargaining. The paper suggests that negotiated settlement deserves more serious attention in UK energy regulation where the issues are material, the parties are credible and the regulator can give the process real standing.

Keywords: Negotiated Settlements; Customer Engagement; Energy Regulation; Water Regulation; Airports (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L51 L94 L95 L97 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-08-18
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cam:camdae:2669

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