Debt-riddled Thames Water has slammed the industry regulator as it looks to raise prices.
Britain’s biggest supplier, buried under a £15billion debt pile, wants to increase household bills by £18.99 a month – or 52 per cent – by 2030.
Ofwat last month said it could only increase bills by 23 per cent over the five years.
Thames water, buried under a £15bn debt pile, wants to increase household bills by £18.99 a month – or 52% – by 2030
But lobby groups warn a cap would hamper companies’ ability to raise enough investment to stop problems like sewage spills.
Chris Weston, Thames’ chief executive, claimed Ofwat’s proposed 23 per cent rise would be ‘neither financeable nor investible’.
‘It would also prevent the turnaround and recovery of the company,’ he added.
Thames, which serves 15m households in London and the South East, faces a funding crisis leaving it on the brink of emergency nationalisation as it struggles under the weight of its debt.
It is currently clamouring to find £3.3billion and is on the hunt for more investors.
Last month, Thames Water lost its investment-grade credit ratings, putting it in breach of its licence conditions and pushing it closer to renationalisation.
Its bonds are now trading at deep discounts to face value and some major lenders have taken losses when cutting their exposure.
The industry had set out plans to invest £105billion over the next five years but Ofwat had proposed cutting this by £17billion.
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