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Tag: Ofwat

  • Thames Water fined £122.7m in biggest ever penalty

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    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgeg5vy9q8eo

    Thames Water has been fined £122.7m for breaching of rules relating to its sewage operations and shareholder payouts.

    It is the biggest ever penalty issued by the water regulator Ofwat.

    The regulator said the fines followed its “biggest and most complex investigation” and confirmed it would be paid by the company and its investors, not by customers.

    A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously.”

    The fine issued by the water industry watchdog has ordered Thames Water to pay a £104.5m penalty for breaches of rules connected to its sewage operations.

    That is on top of an additional penalty of £18.2m for breaches relating to shareholder payouts – known as dividends. It is the first time Ofwat has fined a water company over “undeserved dividends”.

    Thames Water is currently in “cash lock up” and no further dividend payments can be paid without approval from Ofwat.

    …

    Original article at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgeg5vy9q8eo

  • Thoughts of the Day 12 May 2025

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    Image of British Gas sign.
    Image of British Gas sign.

    I’ve been helping a disabled friend with her billing troubles with British Gas. I feel a little responsible because I advised her to go with a fixed deal with British Gas.

    So for her first week British Gas charged for 4756 kWhs of gas. We complained and asked for a proper review. Their review wasn’t clever enough to realise that Ofwat’s average gas use for 1-2 people in a flat or house is 7500 kWhs a year or that my friend’s only gas appliance – a combination boiler rated at 24 kW max – is simply not capable of using that much gas in a week. There are also mistakes on the bill, in statements of gas used and transactions.

    So I rang up to ask about these issue, put on hold many times and disconnected at 27 minutes and 5 seconds. British Gas has a poor reputation for dealing with complaints apparently.

    We will be threatening legal action.

    So there you go British Gas, my review ;)

    13/5/25: I don’t have the figures to hand and think that the 4756 kWhs was instead just short of 5000kWhs for a week, more like 4986.

  • Poor regulator driving soaring water bills, watchdog finds

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/poor-regulator-driving-soaring-water-bills-watchdog-finds

    ‘A wholesale betrayal of the people and our environment’

     Campaigners say privatised water has failed the public and the environment

    REGULATORS have fuelled soaring water bills by not encouraging private companies to spend “what they need to deliver the performance expected,” a damning public spending watchdog report concluded today.

    The National Audit Office (NAO) highlighted “inconsistent responsibilities” and gaps in oversight within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the sector’s regulators.

    The watchdog examined the effectiveness of sector regulators — Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate — as well as Defra, which sets policies for the sector in England.

    It found that complex and lengthy regulatory frameworks have contributed to “worsening investor perception of the sector” which will need to attract “investment and spend at a rate not seen before” to meet its “significant environmental and supply challenges.”

    NAO head Gareth Davies said: “Given the unprecedented situation facing the sector, Defra and the regulators need to act urgently to address industry performance and resilience to ensure the sector can meet government targets and achieve value for money over the long term for bill payers.”

    …

    Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/poor-regulator-driving-soaring-water-bills-watchdog-finds

  • Campaigners launch legal challenge against Ofwat for making customers pay its failures

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-launch-legal-challenge-against-ofwat-for-making-customers-pay-its-failures

    People take part in the Clean Water march in central London, to demand tougher action on keeping Britain’s rivers and seas clean, November 3, 2024

    CAMPAIGNERS launched a legal challenge against Ofwat today, accusing the water regulator of unlawfully forcing customers to foot the bill for decades of neglect by the industry.

    River Action launched the challenge on the same day water bills per year in England and Wales increased by an average of £123.

    The challenge centres on Ofwat’s 2024 price review, which granted “enhanced funding” to United Utilities.

    Campaigners say that the regulator failed to ensure the extra funds would be spent on new water and sewage projects instead of fixing historic issues.

    River Action argues that such decisions mean that customers could be forced to pay twice for failing infrastructure: once through previous water bills and again through upcoming charges.

    Alarmingly, campaigners warned that Ofwat relies on using simulation modelling to forecast sewage infrastructure capacity rather than real-world data when making its funding decisions.

    …

    Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-launch-legal-challenge-against-ofwat-for-making-customers-pay-its-failures

  • Calls mount for public ownership of Thames Water as it launches ‘blatantly greedy’ bid to hike bills

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    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/calls-mount-public-ownership-thames-water-it-launches-blatantly-greedy-bid-hike-bills

    GREED: Thames Water’s chief executive Chris Weston defended bosses getting £770,000 in bonuses

    CAMPAIGNERS mounted further calls for Thames Water to be permanently brought into public ownership today [Friday] after the firm launched a “blatantly greedy and desperate bid” to hike bills yet again.

    The firm has already been allowed to increase bills by 35 per cent over the next five years by regulator Ofwat.

    Thames Water originally lobbied for a 59 per cent increase and is now asking the Competition and Markets Authority to review the decision.

    On the verge of financial collapse, Thames Water sits on £19 billion of debts.

    Despite this, it paid out £158.3 million in dividends last March, and attempted to award its CEO and CFO £770,000 in bonuses using customer money before being blocked by Ofwat.

    Thames Water is currently waiting for a court decision on whether it will be allowed a £3.3bn creditor bailout to avoid falling into special administration at the end of March.

    The loan will cost a mammoth £800m in interest and fees alone, which campaign group We Own It argues will add an extra £250 a year to household bills.

    …

    https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/calls-mount-public-ownership-thames-water-it-launches-blatantly-greedy-bid-hike-bills