Session 3: Europe and Pacific — Regulatory Compliance and Performance Monitoring in the Water Sector

A keynote address followed by a moderated discussion.

European water regulation offers extensive experience in moving beyond establishing regulatory frameworks to measuring performance, ensuring compliance, and demonstrating regulatory impact. Across the region, regulators have developed increasingly sophisticated approaches using standardized KPIs, benchmarking, performance monitoring, transparency, and incentive-based regulation.

This panel will examine how European regulators are using these tools to understand whether regulatory frameworks are delivering the outcomes they were designed to achieve, and how performance information can be translated into stronger accountability, better utility performance, and improved consumer outcomes.

The discussion will focus on three questions:

• How do regulators measure whether water utilities are meeting regulatory expectations and delivering the required outcomes?
• How are benchmarking, incentives, and penalties being used to drive compliance and improve utility performance?
• How can transparency and performance data strengthen accountability, protect consumers, and inform the next generation of regulatory practice?

Drawing on different European regulatory models, the panel will identify practical tools and lessons that can help regulators elsewhere develop credible performance indicators, effective compliance systems, and more outcome-focused regulation.

Participating countries: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Philippines, Korea.