OFWAT has just turned down as “unjustified” an 8% hike in customer bills proposed by Thames Water, the biggest UK water company. So shouldn’t OFGEM take a leaf out of OFWAT’s book in dealing with proposed energy price hikes? The same profiteering has appeared in the water industry, with huge sums being set aside for dividends and fancy remuneration packages for senior managers, but too little for long-term investment.
But OFWAT has hit back with plans to cut bills by 13% by the end of the decade. Thames Water is currently trying to add £29 to the water bills of its 14 million customers in London and the South-East, on the grounds that they should contribute to the cost of the planned Thames tideway ‘super-sewer’ in London, plus also pay for higher Environment Agency charges and recompense the privatised water company for the recent spike in unpaid water bills. The price rise that Thames Water are demanding would hoist bills to nearly £400 a year by 2015. Continue reading
Npower is the latest energy company to put up its prices this autumn, by 10.4% on top of 9% last November, during a period in which the rate of inflation was a mere 2.8%. This will add £137 to the average annual dual fuel bill of £1,460.