Closing summary: Thames Water fears 'multi-billion-pound gap' if it cannot hike bills
Thames Water has said that proposed limits to water bills coupled with proposed spending cuts would leave a “multi-billion-pound gap” in its finances if it is to get its infrastructure up to scratch.
The company wants to hike bills by more than £200 to about £650, it said on Wednesday.
It proposed a five-year plan, to which Ofwat responded by scaling back its bill increases. Thames has now laid out its stall for a final time before Ofwat makes its “final determination”.
In the meantime, there will be deep uncertainty over what is possible to save the water company, which will run out of money in June if it cannot raise new capital.
Thames Water laid out “significant concerns” about cuts that would be imposed by Ofwat, and said there was a “multi-billion pound gap between what we are allowed to charge our customers and what is needed to deliver against the ambitions that customers and stakeholders have set for us”.
Thames Water said that Ofwat cut its spending on upgrades to wastewater treatment works in half and has “set targets that are unachievable”. The targets would expose the company to “disproportionate penalties and excessive downside risk, impacting investibility and ultimately our ability to deliver better infrastructure”.
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Norwegian oil company Equinor may reconsider investments in the UK including the Rosebank oilfield off Scotland if Labour follows through on plans to increase taxes on the sector, an executive has said.
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Hyundai has said it will double the number of hybrid cars it sells, in the latest response by a major carmaker to the softening in demand for battery electric vehicles.
Victoria Beckham’s fashion and beauty business narrowed its losses last year as sales soared by 52% to £89m.
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Thames Water had asked permission from Ofwat to raise bills by 40% in its five-year plan. That plan was rejected by Ofwat.
The company has persevered. It has come back today asking for a 52% increase.
Average bills in 2023 to 2024 were £433, according to the Press Association, so an extra 52% would mean an average bill of more than £650.
