Water Companies Lobbyists Issue Apologies, May Raise Customer Bills To Set Things Right

Press release (or apology, if you like) here.

Defra has covered the story thusly:

Water UK has apologised for not acting quickly enough on sewage spills and vowed to ‘put things right’, starting with a £10 billion investment. […] Water Minister Rebecca Pow said: This apology by the water industry is not before time and I welcome it. […] Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said I welcome the commitments today by Water UK and the wider industry as they work to rebuild public trust, particularly on sewage discharges. It is right that the industry is honest, accountable and shows the tangible steps it is taking to drive the improvements that we all want to see.

The BBC and others, though, cut to the chase:

Bills could rise after water suppliers in England said they were ready to spend £10bn on tackling sewage spills. The companies said on Thursday they were ready to spend £10bn raised from investors to tackle the problem – but admitted customers could see a “modest” bills rise as firms looked to recover the costs over time.[..T]he water companies have come under significant criticism for suggesting bills could be raised to pay for this investment whilst continuing to pay out profits to shareholders.

And the Guardian on this:

Privatised water and sewage companies in the UK paid £1.4bn in dividends in 2022, up from £540m the previous year. Annual bonuses paid to water company executives rose by 20% in 2021, as water bosses paid themselves £24.8m, including £14.7m in bonuses, benefits and incentives, in 2021-2022. Last week the chief executives of Yorkshire Water and Thames Water and owner of South West Water declined their bonuses in an acknowledgment of the public anger over companies’ dumping of sewage in Britain’s rivers.