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...“We are not overjoyed about bills rising,” said one government insider close to the discussions with Ofwat and Thames Water. “But if you have to give somewhere, it would have to be on bills.”...
...Thames Water has lobbied regulators to let it increase bills by 40 per cent by 2030....
...They had requested leniency on dividend rules and regulatory fines, as well as a 56 per cent increase to bills....
...Thames Water is lobbying the government and industry regulator Ofwat to let it increase bills, pay dividends and face lower fines as it seeks to avoid a potential multibillion-pound taxpayer bailout....
...One issue is that Kemble is reliant on dividends paid by the regulated operating company, which receives the cash from customer bills....
...Kemble, which has no source of income other than Thames Water bills, relies on dividends from the water company to service its borrowings....
...In March, Southern Water raised its expected expenditure by 8.5 per cent before inflation and said it now expected average annual customer bills to rise 74 per cent, the biggest price increase in the UK....
...Ofwat will publish a draft ruling on water bill increases on June 12 and a final decision by the end of the year....
...Troubled UK utility Thames Water has pushed up the amount it plans to spend on its network in its latest business plan by £1.1bn to £19.8bn....
...Bill Kingdom Oxford, UK...
...The assets, especially the right to levy and enforce water bills, are very valuable....
...But Ofwat is caught between the public’s understandable desire for infrastructure improvements and its lack of enthusiasm for paying for that investment through water bills, which is the standard mechanism...
...company, which requires billions of pounds to overhaul its ageing infrastructure, and the size of increases in customer bills that can be imposed....
...That commitment relied on Ofwat agreeing to a 56 per cent increase in water bills over the next five years as well as leniency on regulatory fines....
...“Water giants have failed in their responsibilities to the public while lining their own pockets. Now they are asking for bill payers to take the hit for their failings.”...
...That document will also indicate increases in customers’ bills to fund investment in Thames Water’s creaking infrastructure....
...By the time Macquarie sold its final stake in Thames Water in 2017, the company had spent £11bn from customer bills on infrastructure....
...The investors’ initial proposals to Ofwat would have meant a 56 per cent increase in bills, including inflation, by 2030....
...Thames Water has a complex group structure with seven layers between the parent company and the operating company, which is regulated by Ofwat and collects customer bill payments....
..., and the size of increases in customer bills that can be imposed....
...The government insists investments have doubled since privatisation, and efficiency gains have restrained bill increases....
...The fine comes as water companies propose steep increases in customer bills for the five years to 2030....
...Besides, raising utility bills by 40 per cent or more to bail out greedy shareholders just could not work. It’s not an option. So step one is to put Thames Water into administration....
...Water UK said more than 2mn families were already being helped with their bills....
...We think Ofwat may be willing to offer modest regulatory concessions, but will be constrained by competing political factors (unpopular bill increases vs. the risk of Thames collapsing)....
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