It is reported that Thames Water has been unable to reach agreement with the water regulator, Ofwat, over how much our water bills can go up by. Thames is demanding a large increase to allow it to restructure its huge debts and to pay for infrastructure improvements over the next five years.
Ofwat has said that it would allow Thames to increase our bills by an average of £152 per year, from £436 to £588, but Thames wants this to go up by a further £80. Ofwat has refused to budge and Thames may appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority.
Some have demanded that the government should nationalise Thames but there are fears that, with losses estimated at £2 billion per year and an existing debt burden of £16 billion, this would add to government borrowing or lead to the cost being passed on to consumers.
Meanwhile local campaigners Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) are participating in legal proceedings to oppose Thames's application to the High Court for permission to take out a further loan of £3 billion at a punitive interest rate of 9.5% to add to its existing debt mountain. You can read WASP's latest blog post here:
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