Thames Water management, not bill payers, must carry the can, says Gove

Thames Water’s leadership must “carry the can” for the company’s shortcomings and not pass higher bills onto consumers after successive management teams failed to invest enough, Michael Gove has said. The Communities Secretary branded the water company’s leaders “a disgrace” and claimed the firm had acted in an “arrogant” way towards its customers. Bosses at Thames Water have admitted the firm could face the risk of emergency nationalisation as its funding crisis deepened after shareholders refused to give the troubled utility extra cash. The group – the UK’s biggest water supplier, with 16 million households across London and the South East – revealed that its investors had pulled a £500 million funding lifeline that was due to be paid at the end of this month. Thames Water blamed Ofwat, claiming that the regulator had made its business plan “uninvestible”. It is understood that investors pulled the deal after Ofwat refused to bow to the water giant’s demands for a 40% bill hike for customers, an easing of capital spending requirements, as well as leniency on penalties for failing to meet targets. Asked about the water company by broadcasters, the Communities Secretary said: “I think the leadership of Thames Water has...

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