Thames Water will take decade to turn around, says boss
Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said the company had made "good progress" on its performance, "despite the ongoing challenging financial situation".Thames serves about a quarter of the UK's population, mostly across London and parts of southern England, and employs 8,000 people.The firm continues to face heavy criticism over its performance in recent years, following a series of sewage discharges and leaks.The dire state of the company finances emerged in June 2023, but Thames managed to secure a £3bn rescue loan earlier this year to stave off collapse.
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Metro
13 minutes ago
- Metro
Map shows where new hosepipe ban will come into force for millions today
Millions more people are now affected by hosepipe bans after restrictions ordered by South East Water came into force on Friday. Customers in Sussex in Kent can no longer use a hosepipe for activities including watering plants, washing their car, or filling a paddling pool. They join customers of Yorkshire Water, which introduced a ban a week ago. Southern Water has ordered a hosepipe ban to begin at 9am on Monday across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. On Tuesday, a ban will also come into force in a large area covered by Thames Water. You can check our interactive map to see which areas face bans and the date of enforcement. Southern Water's managing director, Tim McMahon, said: 'Only by working together can we make sure there's enough water to go around for customers and the environment.' A spokesperson for Southern Water added: 'The Environment Agency has declared the Solent and South Downs in 'prolonged dry weather'. 'We need to work together to protect precious chalk streams and keep taps flowing.' The firm said it will remove the hosepipe ban 'as soon as we can', but this can only happen once its reservoirs, rivers and underground aquifers have refilled enough to meet demand. Customers in the affected areas could face a £1,000 fine if they're caught using their hosepipe unnecessarily – but Southern Water said they will 'always' remind people about restrictions before taking any action. But hosepipe bans bring to light the number of leaks in Britain's fragile water infrastructure, which cost customers £396million every year. Many customers feel angry that they are asked to stop watering their garden or washing their car, when 19% of treated water is lost to leaks before it even comes out of the tap. Southern Water has already placed a disclaimer on its website telling customers they will not receive a discount on their bills during the hosepipe ban period, saying the restrictions are in place to 'help to protect local rivers and keep taps flowing this summer'. The firm is one of several ordered last year to repay a total of £157million to customers after missing key targets on reducing pollution, leaks and supply interruptions. More than 3billion litres of water were wasted every day in England and Wales between 2020 and 2023 due to leaky pipes, amounting to 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools a day. But Mr McMahon says his team is 'working 24/7' to find and fix leaks. He added: 'We're using a wide range of innovative solutions like drones, sensors and even sniffer dogs, and are ensuring that our pipes, reservoirs and water supply works are working as efficiently as possible – but sadly this is not enough.' Thames Water announced a hosepipe ban on Monday while bans were announced by South West Water and Yorkshire Water earlier this week. Millions more people across England will soon face hosepipe bans that come into force later this week or early next week. PO14/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41 SO14/16/18/19/21/22/24/31/40/43/45/50/51/40/53 RG20/28/26/19/28 SP10/11/5 Reservoirs are drying up thanks to a long period of dry and hot weather, with the UK experiencing three heatwaves practically back-to-back after the hottest June on record. Rain is forecast across the UK later this week, but this will only do so much to refill our reservoirs. In Yorkshire, for example, reservoirs are only 53.8% full, far lower than the 80.9% average for this time of year. More Trending Droughts have been declared so far in Cumbria and Lancashire, Yorkshire, the East and West Midlands, and Greater Manchester, Chester and Merseyside. Plus the Environment Agency says much of the rest of England is experiencing 'prolonged dry weather', with only East Anglia, London, Kent and Cornwall experiencing normal rainfall levels recently. Droughts are declared based on reservoir levels, river flows, and how dry the soil is – and back in May the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology warned many of the UK's rivers had hit exceptionally low levels. This has an impact on agriculture, as farmers have had to start watering their crops earlier rather than being able to rely on rainfall. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: The secret to Hailey Bieber's glowing skin isn't Rhode but this £7 COSRX sheet mask MORE: Thunderstorms, hail and torrential rain set to hit UK with temperatures soaring to 30C MORE: Readers demand consequences for politicians backtracking on promises and policies
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
The problem with Chelsea's transfer masterplan
It could be deemed the most successful transfer policy in the global game. Cole Palmer, the flagship coup of Chelsea's recruitment in the new era, scored twice in the Club World Cup final and was named player of the tournament. The other goal in the demolition of Paris Saint-Germain went to Joao Pedro: 11 days into his Chelsea career, the Brazilian had already scored twice in the semi-final. The Golden Glove was awarded to the much-maligned Robert Sanchez, the unlikely scourge of PSG's feared forward line. Of 15 players used in the final, three were academy graduates and the other 12 all bought under the new regime. Now Chelsea have a rare lull in the football, they can get back to their actual business: transfer business. After proof of the mastery of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, they have another chance to demonstrate it. Or, putting sarcasm aside, after the evidence that Chelsea's outlay on players – now around £1.4bn under their current owners – has brought some quality and some return on the pitch, the Club World Cup winners have more trading to do. This time, the revolving door needs more departures than arrivals. Part of it is a rather basic but still accurate element: Chelsea have far too many players. Another ought to be obvious: the savings Chelsea claim they make with lower basic wages is offset by the size of the squad and it is a waste of money to pay players not to play. Yet there is now another imperative. Chelsea were fined €20m by Uefa for breaching squad cost control, which could rise by up to another €60m. Unless they demonstrate they have generated a cost-saving through sales, they could be unable to register new signings for the Champions League. Some of those new faces debuted for Chelsea in the United States, in Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Dario Essugo. Others played for other clubs there but are now Blues, in Jamie Gittens and Estevao Willian. Then there is Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez, while Geovany Quenda is due to arrive next year. The good news, from a Chelsea perspective, is that they have so many players that there are a host of possible ways to generate money. Indeed, they have already started. They have reduced their stockpile of goalkeepers by selling Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth, Kepa Arrizabalaga to Arsenal and Marcus Bettinelli to Manchester City. Bashir Humphreys' loan to Burnley became permanent and, in the accounts, counts as pure profit. Mathis Amougou has gone to sister club Strasbourg; there are suggestions Ishe Samuels-Smith will follow suit. The bad news, from a Chelsea perspective, is that it would still seem to leave a significant shortfall. Even Noni Madueke's move to Arsenal, while for a far bigger fee, would leave them with a substantial net spend this window. Another problem is the probability that the players they most want to sell are among the hardest to offload, particularly for sizeable sums. The Stamford Bridge version of the bomb squad would seem to include Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Joao Felix and Axel Disasi, none of whom went to the Club World Cup and thus, presumably, have fewer medals from it than Donald Trump. Perhaps Christopher Nkunku, though he did come on in the final, and Armando Broja may be honorary members of it. There is the further complication that they include several of the bigger earners. The great unsellable could be Sterling, whose loan to Arsenal last season was both subsidised and unsuccessful, thus rendering it less likely anyone will buy him now. Chilwell went to Crystal Palace, but they have just bought a left-back, Borna Sosa, on presumably smaller wages. Disasi could now be approximately an eighth-choice centre-back. Joao Felix was an oddity, bought a year after an underwhelming loan but only to pocket the pure profit from Conor Gallagher's departure. Perhaps Benfica will prove an escape route, but probably at a loss for Chelsea. Then there is Nkunku; available for a while, offered to various other clubs, a player of pedigree, but whose route into Enzo Maresca's strongest side is blocked. Chelsea have tried to sell Broja before but have overpriced an injury-prone attacker. There is a further category: the young players bought by the new regime, but without a clear plan or path to the team. Chelsea could do with cashing in on some. Carney Chukwuemeka could be among the most sellable and Chelsea's battalion of new midfielders might render him surplus to requirements. So, too, Lesley Ugochukwu. Maybe even Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, too. The new influx of strikers makes it still harder to see David Datro Fofana or Deivid Washington, currently on loan at Santos, in the team; indeed, Nicolas Jackson's descent from first-choice centre-forward means he offers the possibility of proving a money-making sale. Others can testify to Chelsea's ruthlessness. Trevoh Chalobah has long looked at risk, as an academy graduate, but ought to have proved his (footballing) value enough to be safe; younger homegrown players such as Tyrique George or Josh Acheampong should nevertheless consider themselves warned. The sheer volume of footballers means Chelsea have multiple options. Perhaps few would notice if, say, Omari Kellyman or Caleb Wiley or Marc Guiu or Gabriel Slonina went. Renato Veiga at least made more of an impact. Perhaps the size of the squad explains why Chelsea need so many sporting directors. They could all be busy looking to offload players. Indeed, they have shown creativity in finding homes for the unwanted. But temporary deals could be less suitable if they need to make a profit. And, in any case, they can only loan out six players abroad, apart from club-trained and Under-21 players. Which, as some of their youthful recruits are 21 or 22, becomes more of an issue, especially if some of those loan spots have to be saved for a couple of the senior players who have no buyers. If part of the rationale behind Chelsea's remarkable recruitment was that they were creating value, now they need to extract some of it, to turn the hypothetical prices of players on the balance sheet into funds. Call it an exodus or a clearout but there has long been a case that Chelsea had to shed players. Now, in the glow of success, after being anointed by Fifa and punished by Uefa, is the time to do it.
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
The one-second habit that could save you £60 on your power bill
Amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and soaring inflation, households are scrutinising their spending habits more closely than ever. While many instinctively cut back on discretionary spending like new clothes, daily coffees, or dining out, and even cancelling memberships, simpler ways to reduce expenditure often exist. One such overlooked method, potentially right under our noses, is unplugging household appliances. Lisa Stanley, chief sustainability officer at Zero and co-founder of Good With Money, asserts that unplugging appliances from the wall '100 per cent saves money'. She highlights studies from consumer champion Which? which indicate this simple habit could lead to annual savings of up to £60. 'The reason why it saves money is because if you leave sockets turned on, or plugs turned on at the socket, it has this thing called vampire power,' Stanley explains. 'It actually continues to suck the power once you turn off the socket but when you unplug the appliance, it breaks the circuit and can no longer continue to take that flow of electricity.' Although appliances can eat up energy a lot, Stanley says it's 'simple, small lifestyle changes that can make a difference and they don't need to impact your quality of life at all'. What appliances take up most energy? 'When it comes to your fridge and freezer for example, they are quite energy-hungry but of course you've got to keep them turned on all the time,' Stanley says. 'Other appliances, like your set-top box, actually use quite a lot of energy too but you may find that if you turn that off then it messes with your settings, so you may not want to do that frequently. 'However, you can also look at your laptops and TVs because you can turn your TV off without it impacting your set-top box. All of your tech actually uses around 6% of your entire home's energy and that isn't including someone who is working at home daily or a heavy gamer. 'Unfortunately, other kitchen appliances, such as a dishwasher, can use up to 4% of your home's energy in a year but you can start looking at using the eco-settings.' What changes can people make when thinking about appliances? 'The first thing you can do is make sure you're not falling victim to vampire power and you're turning off all your sockets as much as possible,' Stanley says. 'Really think about it. For example, when I'm working at home I will plug my laptop in, go downstairs to get lunch and I leave it plugged in, even if my laptop is fully charged – so be aware of these things.' 'Secondly, you can switch to LED light bulbs which are also much kinder to the planet and are longer lasting. The manufacturing impact of them is also better because you're not having to replace them all the time. ' Thirdly, if you're boiling the kettle – which is really energy hungry – make sure if you're only making a cup of tea for one person, pour it into a mug before you pour it into the kettle. That way, you're only boiling as much water as you need and it's also saving water – which at the moment is really important that we try and do. 'You can also wash your dishes by hand, run all your appliances on the eco-setting or when washing your clothes, turn down the temperature to 20 or 30 degrees or even cold if you can, as that can make a massive difference to both the amount of energy used and the cost. 'At this time of the year as it is hot, fans are another thing to think about when it comes to energy. If it's a standard desk fan, you can get it from somewhere like John Lewis and costs 1p an hour to run, versus if you've got one of the Dyson fans that are also air purifiers, they can cost up to 66p an hour to run. 'There are also massive differences with the type of smart speakers too. Be aware that keeping music playing when you're not in the room is essentially sucking power when it's not needed.'
