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Authors:
Pete Duell, Anglian Water
Martin Silcock, Anglian Water
Contributors:
Melinda Acutt, ICS
Janet Wright, Sladen Wright Associates
Annabelle Ong, Frontier Economics
Andrew Snelson, Anglian Water
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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Contents
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2.1 Background.................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Incentives.................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Advantages of outcome regulation .................................................................. 4
2.4 Wholesale incentives consultation ................................................................... 5
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3.1 Assumptions ................................................................................................ 5
3.2 Description of the model ................................................................................ 6
3.3 Expanding the model to multiple measures ...................................................... 6
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4.1 Costs........................................................................................................... 6
4.2 Benefit ........................................................................................................ 7
4.3 Marginal Cost = Marginal Benefit .................................................................... 8
4.4 Multi-period milestones ................................................................................. 9
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5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 10
5.2 Assumptions .............................................................................................. 10
5.3 Marginal vs average cost ............................................................................. 11
5.4 Actual costs differ from expected costs .......................................................... 11
5.5 Reputational incentives................................................................................ 12
5.6 Choice of period 1 target ............................................................................. 12
5.7 Marginal cost incentive ................................................................................ 13
5.8 Penalty only incentive.................................................................................. 14
5.9 Conclusions................................................................................................ 14
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6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 14
6.2 Assumptions .............................................................................................. 14
6.3 Period 1 milestone equals the optimal target .................................................. 15
6.4 Actual costs below expected costs................................................................. 15
6.5 Actual costs above expected costs ................................................................ 16
6.6 Choice of period 1 target ............................................................................. 16
6.7 Consumer surplus ....................................................................................... 17
6.8 Applying less than 100% of benefit ............................................................... 18
6.9 Marginally diminishing benefit ...................................................................... 19
6.10 Penalty only incentive.................................................................................. 20
6.11 Conclusions................................................................................................ 20
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7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 20
7.2 Assumptions .............................................................................................. 20
7.3 Incentive properties .................................................................................... 21
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Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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1 Executive Summary
For PR14, Ofwat will seek to incentivise companies to meet the longer term outcomes that
customers value, in contrast to its traditional approach which has concentrated on the delivery
of outputs within a single price control period.
This paper explores the characteristics of ex ante outcome delivery incentives based on both a
cost principle (the planned cost of delivery) and a value principle (the benefit customers gain
or lose from delivery or non-delivery of an outcome). Understanding the differing
characteristics of these two potential approaches is necessary to understand how suitable each
might be when applied to multiple price control periods.
We have found limitations in both a cost-based incentive, which may encourage sub-optimal
delivery against outcomes but encourages truth-telling when setting milestones, and a value-
based incentive which encourages optimal delivery but also creates a perverse incentive to
under-promise and over-deliver on milestones.
There are however, other considerations when choosing an appropriate incentive mechanism
not considered in this paper, such as the confidence regulators and other stakeholders have in
the derivation of both costs and valuations for use in the incentive.
This analysis assumes a two-sided (penalty and reward) incentive. The potential for a reward
beyond the committed target helps long-term planning because the company may be
incentivised to deliver beyond the target. Therefore, there is less need for specific adjustments
to the incentive framework to encourage long-term planning. A penalty only approach commits
the company to a specific short-term target, therefore to encourage long-term planning a
specific adjustment to the framework may be required. Any adjustment would probably just be
trying to mimic the reward approach, but with potentially increased uncertainty. Therefore, if
an aim is to encourage the company to deliver long-term improvements, not short-term
targets, a two-sided incentive would encourage this. Defras draft Strategic Policy Statement to
Ofwat states that Ofwats emphasis should be on rewarding success rather than penalising
failure1. However, this does not mean a penalty only approach would be inappropriate for
every outcome, if for example, the important thing is to deliver a short-term target.
This paper suggests how some of these unintended consequences might be avoided, but
further work would be required to understand if these would be effective.
2 Introduction
2.1 Background
Ofwat has called for companies to support their work developing the price control for PR14. We
have prepared this paper to explore how outcome delivery incentives might function over
multiple periods to ensure that such an incentive would be consistent with the aims of
outcome-based regulation. Given the long term nature of many potential outcomes, it is
particularly important to consider the longer term perspective if companies are genuinely to
plan and make decisions over more than one price control period.
1
Defras strategic policy statement to Ofwat consultation draft, Defra, November 2012, p11.
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
Page 4 of 24
2.2 Incentives
Incentives are used by regulators in order to influence the behaviour of companies towards a
certain end. This can either be encouraging certain behaviours through a reward, or
discouraging certain behaviours through a penalty. The effectiveness of any incentive depends
on its strength, how well it is understood, and the degree to which it avoids negative
unintended consequences. Companies face a number of incentives, some of which may
reinforce one another, others which may conflict. As the complexity of the incentive regime
increases, incentives are liable to be less effective as clarity is reduced and the risk of
unintended consequences increases.
The need for an incentive to be The role and design of incentives for regulating
understood usually favours the setting monopoly water and sewerage services in England
of ex ante incentives. Ex ante incentives and Wales a discussion paper, sets out Ofwats
are those in which the incentive itself, views on incentive design. A good incentive
and the means by which performance should:
against that incentive will be assessed, have a clear aim,
are defined at the beginning of the price be proportionate to its aim,
control period. In this way, companies be clear and transparent,
understand the potential gains and minimise unintended consequences,
losses they face, and will adjust be robust to change or adaptable.
behaviours during the period in
response. In general, this leads to a http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/future/monopolies/fpl/prs_inf_1010fplinc.pdf
mechanistic incentive, in which little is
left to judgement after the fact.
In contrast, ex post incentives are those which are determined at the end of the price control
period. This might mean that the value of any incentive, or even the means of assessment, is
uncertain. This significantly weakens the power of the incentive to influence behaviours, but
allows for considerably more flexibility and also lessens the risk of unintended consequences.
Some of this uncertainty can however be mitigated if there is clarity ex ante on the principles
to be applied when the ex post judgement will be made (and confidence in how this will be
applied).
2
Consultation on wholesale incentives for the 2014 price review, Ofwat
http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/pricereview/pr14/wholesale/prs_web120825wholesaleprice
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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In the wholesale incentives consultation, Ofwat has indicated their current thinking is that:
incentives will apply at the outcome level,
incentives should be based on value to the customer rather than the cost to the
company.
Ofwat is still in consultation on:
whether incentives should be one- or two-sided,
whether trade-offs between incentives should be allowed.3
The analysis in the following sections, leads us to believe that the case for a value-based
incentive in particular requires further consideration. Implementing value-based incentives
without understanding the limitations exposed in this paper and providing a means to mitigate
them is likely to lead to potentially significant unintended consequences. We conclude that it
may be easier to mitigate the limitations of a cost-based incentive than those of a value-based
incentive.
3 The model
3.1 Assumptions
This paper uses a model of an ex ante incentive mechanism based on either a cost-based or a
value-based principle. It assumes:
an ex ante incentive scheme (the rules and rewards are determined in advance of the
period),
a single measure of success (for simplicity termed units delivered, but could easily be
improvement in level of service or some other quantitative metric),
customer research has indicated a Willingness to Pay (WTP) for an improvement in this
measure,
increasing marginal costs (the cost of an additional unit) per unit delivered,
constant marginal benefit (the value derived from an additional unit) per unit delivered
(this assumption is relaxed later in the paper),
a two-sided financial incentive is applied to the outcome,
interactions with other incentives do not affect company behaviour,
rewards or penalties are applied at the end of the period (recovered in a subsequent
period),
companies act as rational (profit maximising) agents with perfect information,
choices about targets of delivery against outcomes are within a companys control (e.g.
not required by legislation),
choices about actual delivery against targets are within a companys control,
the long term optimal target is not expected to change (otherwise this expectation
should have been accounted for in determining the target).
3
Consultation on wholesale incentives for the 2014 price review, Ofwat
http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/pricereview/pr14/wholesale/prs_web120825wholesaleprice
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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We believe that these simplifying assumptions are reasonable and would not materially affect
the conclusions of this paper. However, it should be kept in mind that reality may differ from
these assumptions.
The focus of this paper is on a two-period model in order to understand the choices companies
would make in the first period. This behaviour can then be extrapolated over subsequent
periods to understand the likely effect of the incentive over the longer term.
4
Total costs are calculated as the area underneath the marginal cost curve (the integral of
marginal cost) not the sum of the marginal costs. This could be expressed as the sum of the
average marginal costs instead of the integral of the marginal cost.
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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25 120
100
20
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
60
10
40
5
20
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units delivered Units de livered
MC TC
Fig 4.1.1 Marginal cost (MC) curve Fig 4.1.2 Total cost (TC) curve
4.2 Benefit
Marginal benefit (MB) represents the value placed on each additional unit by the customer.
Economic theory5 suggests that the marginal benefit obtained from additional units will likely
decrease with each unit supplied. Companies undertake Willingness to Pay (WTP) surveys in
order to derive the value placed by customers on the delivery of additional units of service
improvement, i.e. marginal benefits. Whilst these studies may identify marginal benefits which
vary over the range of service levels which are examined by the surveys, in general the
studies outputs are expressed as a single unit value. In other words
the studies derive a constant marginal benefit (i.e. each additional unit Marginal benefit:
is valued equally) (see Fig 4.2.1 and Fig 4.2.2). This pragmatic MB = 10
simplifying assumption enables the use of WTP values in investment Total benefit:
optimisation. Decreasing marginal benefits are difficult to estimate to a TB = MB = 10*Q
sufficient degree to allow effective investment optimisation.
5
Law of diminishing returns
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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25 120
100
20
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
60
10
40
5
20
0
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units delivered
Units delivered
MB
TB
Fig 4.2.1 Marginal benefit (MB) curve Fig 4.2.2 Total benefit (TB) curve
Companies may assume marginal benefit curves with kinks at different levels. For example,
the company might find that benefits are lower at 10 than at five (see Fig 4.2.3 and Fig 4.2.4).
This could be accounted for in the model by varying the incentive according to where on the
curve delivery took place, but our conclusions would remain unchanged from the simpler
example above which we take forward for further analysis.
25
140
120
20
100
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
15
80
60
10
40
5
20
0
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units delivere d
Units delivered
TB
MB
Fig 4.2.3 Varying marginal benefit (MB) Fig 4.2.4 Varying total benefit (TB) curve
curve
(see Fig 4.3.1). If the target is set such that the quantity is less than Q*, customers would
value an additional unit more than it would cost to deliver. If the quantity is greater than Q*,
the additional benefit derived is less the cost of delivery. In reality, the exact marginal cost
and benefit curves will not be known. Note from Fig 4.3.2 the optimal point is not where total
costs = total benefits.
25 140
120
20
100
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
60
10 P*
40
5
TP*
20
0 Q* 0 Q*
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig 4.3.1 Marginal cost (MC) = Marginal Fig 4.3.2 Total cost (TC) and total benefit
benefit (MB) (TB)
In reality, it will be extremely difficult to accurately define the optimal target, Q*, regardless of
the incentive mechanism adopted. It is assumed here in order to show how incentive schemes
may deliver sub-optimal scenarios, but this assumption does not materially affect our
conclusions.
25 140
120
20
100
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
60
10 P*
40
P1
5 TP*
20
TP1
0 Q1 Q* 0 Q1 Q*
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TC TB Period 1 Target
MC MB Period 1 Target
TP1 Q1 Optimal Target
P1 Q1 Optimal Target
TP* Q*
P* Q*
Fig 4.4.1 Milestone set at less than optimal Fig 4.4.2 Milestone set at less than optimal
target target
5 Cost-based incentives
5.1 Introduction
A cost-based incentive would seek to reward or penalise a company based on the cost of
delivery submitted in their business plan. In theory this should be based on the marginal cost
for each unit over- or under-delivered. Companies therefore do not gain by varying from the
target as exact costs are recovered. This would likely be impractical to implement as there is
asymmetry of information around marginal costs between the company and regulators or
customers. It might therefore be necessary to base a cost incentive on the average cost, which
is observable from the companys business plan.
5.2 Assumptions
A cost-based incentive is applied to over- or under-delivery and it is not possible for the
marginal costs to be used. Therefore an average cost incentive is applied. The reward is two-
sided: there are rewards for over-delivery as well as penalties for under-delivery.
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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It is important to note here that the average cost used in the incentive is the average of the
marginal costs for additional delivery, and does not include fixed costs from shared activities,
which is not observable from business plans. We have limited the incentive to an easily
observable value which could be calculated from any business plan in order that there would
be a reasonable chance it could be practically implemented.
Companies are assumed to maximise their expected pay-off taking into account the amount
funded, their costs and any potential incentive (see Fig 5.3.1). The overall incentive faced by a
company would therefore be: total cost allowed cost incurred + average cost incentive for
variation from target. This can be shown as an expected pay-off from delivering a level which
differs from the plan. Under such an incentive, a companys expected pay-off is maximised by
under-delivery.
With this incentive, over-delivery is effectively penalised since the reward paid to the company
is less than the cost incurred.
25 20
10
20
0
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
15 -10
-20
10 P*'
P*
-30
-40
5
-50
0 Q* Q*'
-60
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units de live red
Units delivered
Fig 5.4.1 Actual costs below expected costs Fig 5.4.2 Average cost incentive: actual
costs below expected costs
Conversely, where the actual marginal costs faced by a company are above the expected
marginal costs, the company will deliver less than in the expected case.
However, when actual costs are below expected costs, companies are not incentivised to
deliver the new optimal quantity Q*, and it is questionable whether reputational incentives
would be sufficient to correct this.
Under an average cost incentive therefore, a company is incentivised to set the period 1
milestone as high as possible up to the optimum (a good property of the incentive), but then
to under-deliver (a perverse property of the incentive).
It would also be necessary to limit the incentive to only apply up to the optimal target,
otherwise a company might deliver more than this and still receive their costs even though
they exceed the benefit to the customer. This is complicated where companies are able reduce
their costs below those assumed in the plan and it is now optimal to deliver more than the
original optimal target.
Companies might also be incentivised to inflate the marginal costs estimated after the period 1
target in order to maximise potential rewards.
If however the marginal cost at the planned level of Q1 is used (MC1 = P1) for all variances,
the company is incentivised to deliver the planned level of Q1 where actual costs equal
expected costs.
As shown above, where actual costs are below expected costs, a company may be incentivised
to deliver more than the original plan (although less than the new optimum of Q*). A penalty
only incentive however removes this effect, and a company would only deliver up to the
planned amount.
One way to encourage a company to over-deliver in this situation might be to use a notional
starting point in the second period. In this case, a company would be funded in the second
period to deliver from the period 1 target to the period 2 target, even though they may have
over-delivered in the first period. In this way, the company is compensated for the additional
delivery in the next period, if the company can demonstrate that there is customer support for
the additional units in the second period.
Such a mechanism is however subject to uncertainty over whether additional delivery will be
rewarded, and is therefore probably less effective than an incentive which rewards with
certainty in the current period.
A penalty only incentive would therefore not support long term planning under a cost-based
incentive. Companies gain no benefit from delivering more than planned, even when costs are
lower than expected and more could be achieved for the same cost against a long term target
which customers value.
5.9 Conclusions
Whilst average cost incentives encourage companies to set period 1 milestones as close as
possible to the optimal target, companies are subsequently incentivised to under-deliver on
this milestone.
Whilst this may in part be remedied by coupling with strong reputational penalties for under-
delivery, companies will still be incentivised to deliver less than the optimum if lower than
expected costs would otherwise have allowed for over-delivery against the original target.
These issues are not in themselves sufficient to rule out a cost-based incentive, but these
characteristics should be mitigated within the overall incentive package.
6 Value-based incentives
6.1 Introduction
A value-based incentive would seek to reward or penalise a company based on the benefit
customers derive from each measured unit associated with the outcome which is delivered.
6.2 Assumptions
We assume that 100% of the benefit lost or gained is used as the companys incentive. This is
a simplifying assumption which in effect leaves the customer neutral over the level of delivery.
We relax this assumption in section 6.8.
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
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25 15
10
20
5
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
-10
10 P*'
P*
-15
5 -20
-25
0 Q* Q*'
-30
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units de live red
Units delivered
Fig 6.4.1 Actual costs below expected costs Fig 6.4.2 Benefit incentive P*: actual costs
below expected costs
Under the P* benefit incentive, a company is incentivised to set the period 1 milestone as low
as possible, but then to over-deliver up to the optimal value. This is a major limitation with
value-based incentive schemes where companies are free to set their own milestones. By
choosing a low milestone the risk associated with under-delivery is minimised whilst the
potential gain from over-delivery is maximised. However, financeability would impose some
constraint on a companys ability to over deliver without funding. It is also worth noting that
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
Page 17 of 24
even removing the potential to earn positive rewards would not alter the effects of a value-
based incentive to set conservative period 1 targets.
This limitation could be addressed through careful scrutiny of a companys justification for
setting a milestone below the optimal target, or even through making any payment of positive
incentives for over-delivery dependent on ex post demonstration that over-delivery was made
possible through innovation leading to lower costs.
One way to encourage truth-telling is to design a menu which transforms the rewards available
to ensure that a company is always better off revealing their true expectations about the
period 1 milestone, and encourages a company to set the period 1 target as close as possible
to the optimum level. This option is however likely to be complex and is not explored further in
this paper.
Where the price paid is equal to the marginal cost of delivery , the consumer surplus is the gap
between the marginal cost and marginal benefit curves. The consumer surplus is maximised
when Q* is planned and delivered and no incentive is paid to the company. Where the initial
target is less than the optimal target, a portion of this surplus (that attributable to the units
which are not planned) is not available to the customer. The potential consumer surplus from
the unplanned units (Q1 to Q*) becomes the incentive for the company to deliver up to Q*
(see Fig 6.7.1 and Fig 6.7.2).
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
Page 18 of 24
Under this incentive scheme, the consumer does not gain or lose benefit for any level of
delivery against a given planned level of Q1, since under-delivery is compensated to the value
of the lost consumer surplus, and over-delivery is paid for with the entire surplus for those
units. However, the customer is not indifferent to the level at which Q1 is set. The lower the
company sets Q1, the greater the potential to capture part of the optimal consumer surplus.
25 25
20 20
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
10 P* 10 P*
P1
5 5
0 Q* 0 Q1 Q*
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MC MB Period 1 Target
P1 Q1 Optimal Target
MC MB Optimal Target P* Q* P* Q*
Fig 6.7.2 Expected consumer surplus (green Fig 6.7.3 In this example, the first period target
hash) when optimal target is first is below the optimal target. The
period target, and this target is expected consumer surplus (green
achieved by the company. No hash) is less because this is a sub-
incentive applies. optimal outcome. The company now
has the opportunity to appropriate the
remainder of the optimal consumer
surplus (blue hash) through the
incentive mechanism.
Figure 6.8.1 shows an example from the model when the optimal target Q* = 5 and the first
period milestone Q1 = 3. In this example, different incentive schemes have been compared for
differing percentages of valuation.
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
Page 19 of 24
Changing the percentage of the valuation used in the incentive also affects the benefit to
customers where delivery differs from planned, with customers receiving less than their
valuation in compensation for under-delivery but receiving some benefit from over-delivery.
25 60
40
20
20
15 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-20
10 P*
-40
P1
5 -60
-80
0 Q1 Q*
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -100
Units delivered Units delivered
MC MB Period 1 Target
P1 Q1 Optimal Target
P* Q*
Incentive = AB Period 1 Target Optimal target
Fig 6.9.1 Marginally diminishing benefits Fig 6.9.2 Company pay-off from average
benefit incentive
6.11 Conclusions
Using a value-based incentive based on the point where marginal cost equals marginal benefit
(P*) provides an incentive scheme which encourages delivery to the optimum level. However,
it must be accepted that such a mechanism will result in customers paying more for additional
units than their cost when companies find their costs to be lower than expected. The major
draw-back for such a scheme is that a company is incentivised to under-promise and then to
over-deliver in order to minimise the risk of under-delivery and maximise the potential gain for
over-delivery. Additional mechanisms would be necessary to remove this unintended
consequence, although the practicalities of devising and administering such additional
incentives have not been explored here and could present significant challenges.
7 Innovation
7.1 Introduction
In this section, the model is expanded to consider the choice faced by companies over whether
to invest in research & development (R&D) in the hope of producing an innovation which
overall allows the outcome to be delivered at lower cost.
7.2 Assumptions
Companies may invest a fixed cost in R&D in the 1st period (shifting the total cost curve
upwards, but not the marginal cost curve) (see Fig 7.2.1 and Fig 7.2.2). This may or may not
generate a successful innovation (if successful, the slope of the marginal cost curve is
reduced). It is assumed for simplicity that the effect of the innovation takes place in the 1st
period. The 1st period milestone is assumed to be lower than the optimal target.
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
Page 21 of 24
140 140
120 120
100 100
80 80
60 60
TP*'
40 40
TP*'
TP* TP*
20 20
TP1 TP1
0 Q1 Q*'
Q*
0 Q1 Q* Q*'
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units delivere d
Units delivered
TC TB Actual TC
TC TB Actual TC
Period 1 Target TP1 Q1
Period 1 Target TP1 Q1
Optimal Target TP* Q*
Optimal Target TP* Q*
New optimal target TP*' Q*'
New optimal target TP*' Q*'
If R&D fails to secure successful innovation, a company may deliver less than originally
anticipated regardless of the incentive mechanism since it may not be able to fund the delivery
of additional units at a higher cost in order to minimise the penalty as it should do under a P*
benefit incentive. This might also be the case where R&D has been successful but the reduced
marginal costs are not sufficient in the first period to allow the company to deliver the planned
amount within the period, but will lead to a higher new optimal point Q* in the subsequent
period (see Fig 7.3.1 and Fig 7.3.2).
Outcome delivery incentives over multiple price controls
Page 22 of 24
25 140
120
20
Marginal Cost / Benefit ()
100
10 P*'
P* 60
40TP*'
5
TP*
20
TP1
0 Q* Q*'
0 Q1 Q* Q*'
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Units de livered
Units delivered
TC TB Actual TC
MC Actual MC MB
Period 1 Target TP1 Q1
Optimal Target P* Q*
Optimal Target TP* Q*
New optimal target P*' Q*'
New optimal target TP*' Q*'
Fig 7.3.1 Successful innovation (marginal costs Fig 7.3.2 Successful innovation, but total costs
are reduced) leading to a new in first period exceed expected costs.
optimal target (Q*) Innovation takes until the second
period to recover R&D investment, but
ultimately leads to a higher optimal
target (Q*).
To the regulator both cases appear similar at the end of period 1. If a penalty is applied at the
end of period 1 for failing to meet Q1, a company would be discouraged from undertaking R&D
where innovation was not likely to reduce costs in the same period sufficiently to offset the
cost.
One approach to resolve this issue would be to allow companies to make a case at the end of
the 1st period if they believe they have lowered their unit costs through innovation but this has
not yet had time to offset the initial investment. If this is accepted, the penalty for under-
delivery in period 1 could be suspended until a subsequent period. This would allow companies
to invest in longer term innovations. Suspended penalties should not however be allowed to
continue indefinitely and a reasonable time-frame should be established for when a company
expects to recover (e.g. at the next milestone or at the end of the agreed timescale for the
outcome).
However, it may be more appropriate to apply a penalty but then to allow for a compensatory
reward in future periods when the innovation allows recovery. In this case customers are not
asked to fund something today that they have not received. There is a risk with such an
approach that companies may not have confidence that Ofwat or Customer Challenge Groups
will approve an incentive in future periods which adequately compensates for the penalty
applied in this period.
8 Other incentives
This paper largely treats outcome delivery incentives in isolation from other incentives for
simplicity. Further work would be needed to identify if the conclusions would alter when placed
within the total package of incentives, particularly value for money incentives or other outcome
incentives (such as the Service Incentive Mechanism). These different incentives will need to
be calibrated together.
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10 Conclusions
When designing an incentive mechanism to encourage delivery of outcomes over multiple
periods, it must be recognised that companies can influence their expected rewards and
penalties in a number of ways:
choosing milestones to manage the risk they face,
choosing to deliver more or less than planned to minimise penalties and maximise
rewards,
investing in R&D to reduce costs over the longer term.
There is also a case for allowing some penalties for under-delivery to be suspended until future
periods, where a company believes that the under-delivery is as a result of innovation which is
not expected to pay-off until a subsequent period.
The degree to which both costs and benefits can be relied upon for use in an incentive is open
to debate. There is considerable asymmetry of information between companies and their
regulators and stakeholders with regards to costs. Whilst there has been an accumulation of
revealed costs for activities which have been undertaken by companies over the last 20 years,
translating these activity and scheme costs into outcomes is likely to be problematic for the
regulator. A similar case could be made for valuations, which have also historically been based
around outputs rather than outcomes. The degree to which outcomes differ between
companies also makes any cross-company benchmarking problematic. In the case of
valuations, such comparisons may also be inappropriate, since each company seeks to find the
value placed on an outcome by their own customers. This paper has not sought to resolve this
problem, but the likely effect on failure risk must also be taken into account, alongside the
findings of this paper.
This analysis assumes a two-sided (penalty and reward) incentive. A penalty only incentive
does not support long term planning and innovation. Companies do not benefit from delivering
more than planned in any given period under a penalty only incentive, even when there is
evidence that customers would prefer more of an outcome over the long term, and the
company has reduced costs to allow more to be achieved than originally planned. Companies
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may also be less innovative in the targets they set, the measures they choose and in
potentially risky investments in promoting innovation.
We have found limitations in both a cost-based incentive, which may encourage sub-optimal
delivery against outcomes but encourages truth-telling when setting milestones, and a value-
based incentive, which encourages optimal delivery but also creates a perverse incentive to
under-promise and over-deliver on milestones. This paper suggests how some of these
unintended consequences might be avoided, but further work would be required to understand
if these would be effective.
11 Further information
If you have any questions or comments regarding this paper please contact the authors:
Contributors: