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Thames Water says it needs 59% bill rise to survive
(www.bbc.co.uk)
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this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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I agree.
But the realist in me knows it is unlikely to be allowed to happen.
I know that the government will have to service a £15bn debt through borrowing, which will raise interest rates, mortgages, rents and require cuts to public services to pay for. That is on top of the investment needed over the next few years to stop sewage leaking into rivers and leaks of millions of litres a day.
In addition I know that pension funds and large investors will lose substantial sums of money and will look to divest from similar risks, which could lead to more utility companies becoming insolvent. A snowball effect.
Finally, I know that international investment in the UK will be seen as more risky.
What the government will be doing now is weighing up those risks against the cost of raising bills by the 59% that the water companies and industry bodies are asking for. If the worst should happen, will taxpayers be better off with a couple of hundred extra £ on their water bills to pay, or potentially a lot worse off with a rapid nationalisation of multiple firms.
Service the debt by selling assets of the C suite that got them into this mess. Charge corporations real taxes and levy fines and penalties that are realistic to the damaged caused. Essential services should never be private because this is exactly what happens. And the end user is penalized, and a couple hundred extra € will continue to increase until noone can pay their bills, and then the business will go insolvent anyway, and people will be left without water service anyway.
We need to stop subsidizing corporate failures, so they can privatize the profit.