Thames Water seeks to raise consumer bills by up to 44%, aiming to increase investment.
Thames Water announced on Monday that it has revised its spending plans for the 2025-2030 period following discussions with Ofwat, the industry regulator.
Initially proposing to spend £18.7 billion and increase bills by 40%, the company now plans to invest an additional £1.1 billion, totaling £ 19.8 billion, to address environmental concerns, particularly sewage dumping.
There’s potential for further spending of £1.9 billion, contingent on labour availability, which could bring the total investment to £21.7 billion.
If realised, bills for Thames’s 16 million customers could rise to £627 by 2030, a 44% increase excluding inflation.
Ofwat rejected their initial proposal, leading Kemble Water shareholders to retract a cash injection, prompting default on debt interest payments.
The company said: “As well as allowing Thames Water Utilities Limited (TWUL) to deliver more environmental projects, a rebalancing of operating and capital expenditures means there is no resulting increase in projected customer bills, which are estimated on average to be £608 by 2030.
“TWUL will continue to look for opportunities to deliver more investment in AMP8 and has proposed that a further £1.9 billion of potential investment is placed into a “Deliverability Assessment Mechanism”.
“This means if TWUL was to invest the full £1.9 billion in AMP8, then annual average customer bills would increase further by £19 over that period.”
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