Thames Water: Bills set to rise as company tries to weather cash crisis and fix network

Troubled Thames Water has put forward new plans to boost spending and investment in its network, but warned this could see customer bills surge by 44 per cent.

The group, which is battling to survive amid a funding crisis, has proposed increasing spending by £1.1bn and revealed another potential £1.9bn investment in its network as part of new business plans to regulator Ofwat.

The company – Britain’s biggest water firm, with 16m customers in London and the Thames Valley region – said its new business plan for the five years to 2030 would see spending rise to £19.8bn, with the extra being used for environmental projects.

But it added that the possible extra £1.9bn investment in its network would see average customer bills rise by another £19 over the five years – on top of the 40 per cent hike already pencilled. If Ofwat were to give the full plans the go-ahead, this would see customer bills rise to £627 a year by 2030.

Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said: “Our business plan focuses on our customers’ priorities. As part of the usual ongoing discussions relating to (the business plan), we’ve now updated it to deliver more projects that will benefit the environment. We will continue to discuss this with our regulators and stakeholders.”

Thames Water has had to rethink its business plan in a bid to stave off collapse as it crumbles under the weight of £15bn of debt. Its investors have refused to pump in the cash needed to plug a funding gap and reports suggest the Government is working on plans to effectively nationalise the water giant.