Thames Water Coffers Bursting W. Half-Billion Pound Profit, As Their Pipes Keep Bursting With Sewage
Thames Water has reported a boom in first-half profits to almost £500m, despite a surge in the number of burst pipes during the drought across the UK over the summer. The company, which instituted a hosepipe ban from August to September amid the summer heatwave, said the rise in leakage and supply interruptions due to mains bursting was the result of “hot weather and dry ground”.
The Liberal Democrats criticised the large profits as “an insult” and “a slap in the face” after the service failings. Thames Water has also been under fire for sewage discharges and executive pay, with its CEO, Sarah Bentley, earning £2m. The company made a pre-tax loss of £386m in the six months to the end of September last year, compared with this year’s £493.5m profits. Thames Water, which supplies 15 million customers across London and the south-east, said exceptional gains in financial instruments helped drive the surge in profits.
Ian Marchant, the chair of Thames Water, said: “2022 marked one of the worst droughts on record, leading to an unprecedented decline in water storage. Given the severity and prolonged nature of the drought in our region, a temporary usage ban was put in place to help manage water resources. “Team Thames has been working round the clock to fix leaks and bursts, which have spiked as a result of the drought, and working with customers to help reduce demand.”
The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesman, Tim Farron, said: “These profits are a slap in the face for communities who have had their rivers poisoned by sewage or water supplies cut off because of leaking pipes. “Last week homes in Guildford were again left without water because of Thames Water’s gross incompetence, yet the company’s executives still rewarded themselves with multi-million pound bonuses. How is that right? This is an insult and the government should finally get tough by taxing these staggering profits more, as well as banning water company exec bonuses.”
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/05/thames-water-reports-profits-boom-despite-surge-in-burst-pipes-during-drought