Suppose I should compare with past ones, but was surprised just how defensive the regulator was, saying many times that everything was up for consultation and this was just a draft proposal. Perhaps they had seen the share reactions and were a bit shaken that they may have been too harsh? They also mentioned that a fair bit of info had been missing (mainly from NG) and that they had made assumptions in it's absence. NG must have known that the info would be critical to provide- was this bad mis-management, mix up in communications or had lockdown seriously affected their ability to provide it? Regulator did say for the first time that they had had input from "well informed" consumer groups which had been relected in the proposals. Also there are now "uncertainty mechanisms" which should reduce risk for companies. Finally they expect investment to rise throughout the decade helping to meet environmental targets. Could be a big issue if companies decide they do not want to invest and say NG look to the States to do most of their investment.See NG has recovered a bit today, which may reflect a feeling that come the final decision by the regulator, things may have eased somewhat. Far from certain however and clearly good political capital in championing the consumers cause, whatever the general philosphy of needing appropriate incentives to oil the wheels of capitalism. Glad I didn't top up NG when they went badly ex div the other day. Will probably hold tight for now, but unlikley to add unless they really tanked.
