Thames Water customers, look away now! In a desperate bid to avoid financial collapse, Britain’s biggest water supplier has proposed a colossal 44 per cent hike on customer bills over the next five years.
With 16 million customers, Thames Water is the country’s biggest supplier. However, that hasn’t prevented the company from getting into serious financial woes, with debts now exceeding £15 billion.
In a bid to save its skin, Thames Water has made a bid to regulator Ofwat to raise customer bills, but whether this will be approved or not remains to be seen. The last time the supplier made a similar proposal, it was rejected.
Thames had originally suggested an investment of £18.7bn between 2025 and 2030, with an increase of 40 per cent plus inflation to customer bills, which Ofwat baulked at.
This led to rumours the company could be renationalised after news also emerged that investors were unwilling to cough up a much-needed £500m injection, leaving Thames Water with nowhere to go.
But now the company has come back with a fresh proposal that would see some customers’ bills increase by almost half over the next few years,
Thames Water has now proposed spending an extra £1.1bn on top of its original plans for “projects benefiting the environment”, although, as of yet, no specifics have been put forward about where exactly the money will be spent.
As reported by the Express, Mike Keil, interim chief executive at the Consumer Council for Water, said: “On the surface, the proposal for more investment from Thames Water is a positive step for its customers that have endured some of the worst customer service in the sector.”
However, Mr Keil said that while customers may benefit from a better service, only 16 per cent of its customers think they can afford the proposed increase.
“This announcement appears to offer nothing to ease the fears of those already struggling to pay,” he added.
Thames Water Customers
So how exactly does this affect Thames Water customers? Well that remains to be seen, as the proposal will be discussed by Ofwat on 23 May.
If Thames Water does get the greenlight, households in the South East will be forced to pay the huge increase. And while, in theory, this should mean a better service, it will be interesting to see how much of the revenue raised is spent on paying off the company’s sizable debts.
On the flip side, if the proposal is rejected by Ofwat once again, this will mean the future of Thames Water is up in the air, with renationalisation a very real possibility. So, much will be decided when the draft is discussed next month which is a crucial date for Thames Water, its investors and customers.
Compare Business Water Suppliers
If you’re a customer of Thames Water then you may well be concerned with the negative news that seems to arrive on a daily basis.
For households, sadly you can’t do anything about it as your supplier is fixed. However, for those who own a business, the free market means you can change suppliers whenever you please.
Here at SwiftSwitch, we believe business owners deserve the best service from their water company, and we endeavour to help them achieve it. By comparing water suppliers this helps to ensure your business is partnering with a reliable company that you can trust.
So if you’re a Thames Water customer and you think it might be time for a switch, get in touch and we’ll run through some details to help point you towards the best tariffs and providers on the market.
