When the UK Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, it marked the most significant overhaul of public procurement rules in more than a decade. For the UK Utilities sector the last twelve months have been a period of adjustment, opportunity, and, at times, uncertainty.  

At CKDelta, we are committed to the Utilities market, and now seems as good a time as ever to reflect on how the Act has reshaped utilities procurement, the challenges buyers have faced and what the future holds for the market going into year two. 

Less Fragmentation, More Transition  

One of the most consequential changes for utilities buyers was the consolidation of rules. Previously, utilities operated under the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (UCR), a standalone regime. The Procurement Act 2023 swept these away and unified utilities procurement within the broader public sector framework. 

What we’ve observed at CKDelta is this has reduced legal fragmentation and simplified the legislative landscape. However, the transition has not been without issues. Contracts started before February 2025 continue under the old rules, leading to many utilities we speak to having to manage two parallel procurement regimes: 

• Many utilities still rely on legacy frameworks to delay moving fully into the new system. 

• Internal policies, templates and training have developed unevenly, creating varied levels of readiness. 

The intention of simplification is a noble one, but the practical reality one year on is a more complex transition than some had initially expected. 

Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP) 

The Act has also replaced multiple EU‑derived procedures with a single, Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP), giving utilities more freedom to design procurement processes tailored to their needs. 

As utilities often manage highly technical, multi‑staged procurements, we have seen this as a welcome development. The CFP has allowed: 

• Negotiation at defined stages. 

• Dialogue‑based evaluation for complex solutions. 

• More iterative processes. 

Early adopters have tended to model their CFPs on old PCR‑style templates, reflecting caution and a desire to stick with familiar structures. The potential is significant, but what we are seeing is that utilities are still learning how far they can stretch the new flexibility. 

Transparency Requirements: A New Era of Visibility (and Admin!) 

The Act has also brought sweeping transparency obligations, expanding how much procurement information must be published through the new Central Digital Platform (CDP). For utilities, this has included contract performance notices, termination notices, payment compliance notices (phased in from this year) and a broader suite of planning and award notices, with some exceptions. 

While these measures have aimed to strengthen accountability and boost public trust, the administrative cost has been substantial. In talking to buyers at Utilities, at CKDelta we have found that: 

1. These transparency processes have often required investment in new systems, resources or skills. 

2. Performance assessments are now in the public domain, increasing commercial and reputational risk. 

3. The need to report breaches, terminations or underperformance has heightened pressure on utilities’ contract and supplier management teams. 

Social Value and SME Access Come into Sharper Focus 

The updated National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) has also placed new emphasis on stimulating economic growth, improving SME access and embedding Social Value considerations. Utilities must now show how procurements contribute to these priorities. This aligns well with HM Government ambitions, but from this viewpoint implementation has varied: 

• Some utilities have faced challenges translating social value goals into practical evaluation criteria, echoing issues seen in other public adjacent sectors. 

• Smaller suppliers often lack the resources for complex reporting and impact measurement, risking reduced participation despite the policy’s good intent. 

Buyers are now learning these lessons and reframing procurement not only as a commercial exercise but as a tool to support national outcomes – something that has required deeper cross‑functional planning. 

Exclusion, Debarment and Performance Scrutiny 

The Act has expanded the exclusion and debarment framework, particularly in relation to supplier performance. Utilities must now track and report on contract breaches, underperformance, terminations, damages and even settlement agreements. 

These can lead to suppliers being referred to the new Debarment Unit and potentially added to the Debarment List. What we’ve seen change in Utilities in the last year includes: 

• More rigorous contract management. 

• A greater burden of documentation. 

• Feedback of higher stakes when choosing and monitoring suppliers. 

Combined with the need for increased transparency, this has seen a shift towards both enforcement and risk‑mitigation in selecting suppliers, one utilities must actively manage. 

Utilities Dynamic Markets 

The Act has also introduced Utilities Dynamic Markets (UDMs) - a more flexible, continually open alternative to frameworks. These are intended to modernise category‑based procurement and enable easier onboarding of new suppliers. However, from what we have seen so far uptake has been cautious: 

• Many utilities are still getting to grips with design and governance requirements. 

• Legacy frameworks provide a more familiar and lower‑risk alternative during this transition period. 

UDMs remain promising, but from this vantage point widespread use within Utilities may yet take another 12–24 months. 

Better Data, Better Insights - But Capability Gaps Remain 

A major structural improvement has been the adoption of the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS), enabling procurement data to be published in a more consistent, machine‑readable format. And at CKDelta, we are all about democratising data and applying AI for increased insight – so we are big fans! For utilities, this has meant: 

• Greater access to market intelligence. 

• Improved visibility of competition levels, supplier diversity and contract outcomes. 

• Potential for data‑driven performance benchmarking. 

However, many utilities are only just beginning to develop the analytics capability needed to take full advantage of this richer dataset as they deal with their own fragmented data environment and the new administrative burden. 

What Does the Future Look Like for Utilities Procurement? 

Looking ahead, at CKDelta we believe several trends are likely to shape the utilities procurement landscape over the next one to three years as the changes the Act has introduced become the norm: 

• Full Transition to the Act Will Accelerate. As legacy contracts expire and frameworks reach their natural end, utilities will be compelled to adopt the Act fully. Internal governance, training and tooling will mature, reducing the current transitional strain. 

• Increased Use of Data to Drive Decision‑Making. With OCDS‑structured data now readily available, utilities will move toward analytics‑driven procurement, benchmarking supplier performance, monitoring competition and identifying more opportunities for data-led innovation. 

• Wider Adoption of the Competitive Flexible Procedure. As confidence grows, we believe utilities will explore more sophisticated multi‑stage CFP approaches, using negotiation and dialogue creatively to secure the best technical and commercial outcomes. 

• Social Value Will Become More Embedded. We expect more robust quantification methods, clearer evaluation frameworks and stronger supplier reporting mechanisms as social value requirements become standard practice. 

• Closer Scrutiny of Supplier Performance. With mandatory performance reporting and potential debarment implications, utilities will lean heavily into proactive supplier management, risk tracking and early‑intervention processes. 

• More Dynamic Market Models. Utilities Dynamic Markets will likely expand moving forward, offering greater agility for recurring categories and supporting SME onboarding. 

One year into the UK Procurement Act 2023, the Act has modernised the procurement landscape, bringing flexibility, transparency and stronger alignment with UK national priorities. Yet the sector’s full transformation will take time, as utilities navigate dual regimes, increasing reporting demands and the cultural shift required to embed the Act's principles. 

2026 is likely to focus on consolidation, building confidence with new tools, maturing internal processes and embracing the opportunities created by better data and more flexible procedures.  

From speaking to buyers throughout the sector, what CKDelta have seen is that this journey is well underway, and the long‑term prospects point toward more efficient, transparent and strategically aligned procurement practices.