Britain’s regulator told water companies they needed to fix leaks and cut sewage spills without raising bills as much as they had wanted, prompting industry criticism it was failing to get to grips with the mounting crisis.
The water companies said that was not enough to tackle sewage spills, fix leaking pipes and increase capacity for a growing population. They had wanted to raise bills by an average of 33%, to invest 105 billion pounds. “For far too long, Ofwat has failed to be realistic about the levels of investment needed and what it will take to deliver and maintain necessary infrastructure,” a spokesperson said.
Struggling under 15 billion pounds of debt, Thames said on Tuesday it would run out of money next year if it did not raise 3.25 billion pounds of equity. The crisis poses a challenge for new Prime Minister Keir Starmer who wants to boost private investment in Britain, with investors looking at water as a test case.