‘Extremely stressed': Thames Water warns of collapse without overhaul of UK water rules

Malay Mail

a day ago

Proposed measures to fix sector expected on Monday
Indebted Thames Water fighting for survival
Regulation overhaul could be proposed
LONDON, July 19 — Britain is expected to set out measures to fix its broken water sector on Monday as Thames Water teeters on the brink of failure, saying it needs a 'reset' of regulation to have any chance of avoiding nationalisation.
The country's biggest water company has been fighting for its survival for the last 18 months. If it fails the government would have to step in, adding billions of pounds to already stretched public finances.
Britain commissioned a review last year into the privatised water industry in England and Wales, which needs huge investments to fix aging infrastructure and stem sewage spills into rivers and lakes that have angered the public.
Former Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe, who is leading the review, has recommended overhauling regulation to lower investment risk, merging regulators to give companies clearer direction and new rules on river bathing standards.
'Water companies must be made more attractive to stable, long-term investors,' he said in his interim report in June.
'To attract such long-term investors, willing to make the substantial future investment we need, risks also need to be lower than they are presently. In large part, this means restoring confidence in the stability and predictability of the regulatory system.'
Thames Water's creditors have offered it a rescue deal worth about 5 billion pounds (RM28.5 billion), and they, along with the beleaguered company, are in talks with Ofwat, the water industry's financial regulator.
But in return they want a regulatory reset, which could mean flexibility on pollution targets, clemency on penalties and more time to deliver improvements.
Thames Water Chief Executive Chris Weston told lawmakers on Tuesday that the company was 'extremely stressed and operating in very difficult circumstances' after it reported a 1.65 billion pound annual loss.
Thames Water suffered a major setback in June when US private equity firm KKR – its preferred bidder – pulled out of an earlier rescue plan.
KKR told lawmakers in a letter published on Tuesday that regulatory risk played a part in its decision, and it would not have been 'able to manage and meet the understandable expectations on the timing of improvements, risking falling short in the eyes of the public and stakeholders'.
Thames Water, which has 16 million customers in southern England, forecasts it will face 1.4 billion pounds in pollution fines and penalties over the next five years.
While the government wants to cut water pollution, it can ill afford a Thames Water bankruptcy that would add the company's 17 billion pound debt onto government books, at a time when the finance minister Rachel Reeves is already close to breaking her fiscal rules.
The government has repeatedly said it is keeping a close eye on Thames Water. Environment minister Steve Reed said in June that his department had 'stepped up' preparations for its special administration regime, a form of temporary nationalisation. — Reuters