15 reasons to withhold payments to a failing privatised water company
January
Chris Weston appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Thames Water, effective from 8 January 2024
March
Thames Water warns that it could run out of cash by March 2025 but makes dividend pay-outs of £158.3m regardless. Water regulator Ofwat finds the payments to be in breach of the company’s obligations under Licence Condition P30
April
CEO Chris Weston receives a bonus of £195,000 for his first three months at the company, taking his total pay for the period to £437,000
May
Thames Water is ticked off over having tested the tap water of only one home and none of its treatment facilities following widespread complaints about diarrhoea, vomiting and even hospitalisation by customers in Beckenham, South East London. This contravenes the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016
July
Ofwat’s draft proposals allow Thames Water to increase bills by 22% between 2025 and 2030, with a final decision to be made in December. Meanwhile the regulator denounces Thames Water’s business plan as late, inadequate, incomplete, of poor quality, insufficiently justified and lacking in ambition while Thames board members are accused of failing to oversee treatment operations and admit that the company would not be able to meet its statutory obligations
Thames accused of putting in bids for funding for projects which had already been granted in the previous price review — i.e. an attempt by the company to effectively charge its customers twice.
August
Thames Water fined £104m over sewerage discharges and accused by Ofwat of failing to manage its sewerage works leading to effluent ‘routinely’ flowing into rivers and seas
September
Competitions Appeals Tribunal considers claims filed by water resources specialist Professor Carolyn Roberts accusing Thames Water and five other water companies of having broken competition laws by misleading their regulators as to the number of sewerage spills. The case represents the first environmental compensation class action brought in the U.K. and could lead to substantial refunds being ordered. CAT has not yet issued a judgement
Thames Water reports 40% increase in sewage spills, with incidents increasing to 17,564 between January and September 2024, compared to 12,428 in the same period the previous year.
October
The English privatised water system is singled out for extensive criticism by UN special rapporteur on the human right to clean water
Ofwat orders English water companies to return £158m to customers after overseeing the worst year for pollution since 2020. Thames has to repay the most; – £56.8m
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) sets up a water commission to attract the investment needed to clean up English waterways and rebuild the broken water infrastructure. The commission has not yet reported
November
Ofwat blocks Thames Water bonuses and the company renews warnings that it is set to run out of money by April 2025
December
Ofwat gives Thames Water green light to raise bills by more than 33% over next five years. It also fines Thames £18.2m for breaking rules about payments of dividends
The Office for Environmental Protection finds that there have been failures to comply with environmental law in relation to regulatory oversight of sewage discharges and highlights systemic failures in the management and regulation of sewage treatment and the need for comprehensive reforms in the sector.
The Courts allow Thames Water to add a further £3bn to the £15bn debt it already carries. The interest rate on this will be a whopping 9.75% and, along with associated costs, the move is expected to add £263 per year to household bills.
To look out for in 2025
Thames needs to hold a formal vote in January to win support from creditors for that £3bn loan before the deal is rubber-stamped by the courts in February.
The Competition Appeals Tribunal should issue its judgement on the environmental class action brought by Professor Carolyn Roberts
Water campaigners persuade the government to take Thames’ licence away and return water to public hands!
