Thames Water appeals Ofwat’s price cap – claiming hiking bills by a third over five years isn’t enough
Troubled Thames Water has launched an appeal against regulator Ofwat’s price cap, as it says hiking bills by a third over the next five years is not enough.
Ofwat denied Thames’ request for a 53 per cent rise in December, limiting the potential rises to 35 per cent — about an extra £152 per household.
But Thames has now appealed against that to the Competition and Markets Authority.
Insiders say the process could take between six and 12 months, while Ofwat launches a fresh review of Thames Water’s broken environmental promises. Thames says the appeal will not affect bills this year.
The news provoked outrage among campaigners, who argue the firm has let customers shoulder the cost after it paid out hundreds of millions in dividends to shareholders and executives while also going deep into debt.
Mike Keil, of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “This is a company which has a poor track record on service delivery and customer complaints, so people will rightly question why it should be trusted with even more of bill-payers’ money.”
Thames Water, which is still fending off the threat of temporary renationalisation, will hear early next week whether a court will approve a £3billion lifeline from bondholders.
West At Best
Natwest yesterday posted slightly better than expected operating pre-tax profits of £6.2billion for 2024.
It is a 0.3 per cent rise from 2023, thanks to low customer default rates and more mortgage lending.
Bank CEO Paul Thwaite expects a “forward-looking chapter” ahead of a Government stake sell-off.
Being Milked
Parents are being ripped off by up to £300 a year on baby formula prices, say competition watchdogs.
The CMA urged the removal of branded formulas in hospitals, and the scrapping of bans on using customer loyalty schemes for milk.
Baby milk prices have risen an average 22 per cent in two years.
Good Week
Heineken boss Dolf van den Brink, who toasted a cider revival and beer volume growth, triggering a shares leap of 12 per cent.
Bad Week
Gavin Isaacs, the FTSE 100’s shortest-serving CEO in history. He lasted just 163 days at betting giant Entain.