(Alliance News) - Thames Water is bracing for fresh fines of possibly hundreds of millions of pounds, the Telegraph reported Saturday.
Heavily indebted Thames Water, which has 16 million customers across London and the Thames Valley, is facing sharp penalties from industry regulator Ofwat due to mistakes and scandals such as sewage dumping, missing performance targets and unsanctioned dividend payments.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/07/13/thames-water-fines-increase-labour-bail-out-ofwat/
Thames Water could be hit by a debt downgrade in the next weeks, putting the firm in breach of its licence and triggering a further on-off financial punishment.
If the company has to pay several large fines, it raises the prospect of Thames Water having to be bailed out by the UK government.
On Thursday, Ofwat said it opposed the utility's planned 44% rise in consumer bills over the next five years.
In a draft verdict on England and Wales water company business plans to 2030, Ofwat instead proposed Thames increase average yearly bills by 23% to GBP535 over the period.
The watchdog also reduced Thames' planned investment in its services, including upgrading its ageing infrastructure, to GBP16.9 billion, down 21% from the GBP21.4 billion the company had proposed.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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