Water Charges Equalisation Act 1977

2 Equalisation payments to be made to certain statutory water undertakers.

(1) For each year for which an equalisation levy is payable to the National Water Council, the Secretary of State shall by order direct the Council to pay to such statutory water undertakers as may be specified in the direction payments (in this Act referred to as “equalisation payments”) of such amounts as may be so specified, being equal in the aggregate to the equalisation levies payable to the Council for that year.

(2) Subject to section 3(3) below, in giving a direction under this section for any year the Secretary of State shall seek to secure that—

(a) an equalisation payment is made to any statutory water undertaker whose relevant financing costs for that year exceed the product of the average unit cost of statutory water undertakers for that year and the number of premises to which in that year a supply of water is provided by the undertaker on an unmeasured basis; and

(b) the amount of the equalisation payment made to a statutory water undertaker is such as represents, as near as may be, the excess referred to in paragraph (a) above.

(3) Any equalisation payment which the National Water Council is directed to pay shall be payable by such instalments and at such times as may be specified in, or determined in accordance with, the direction.