Beleaguered utilities business Thames Water Utilities Ltd (TWUL) has submitted an updated business plan – including investment of £19.8bn in its infrastructure and in action to improve its environmental performance.
The proposal – which is subject to approval by Ofwat – includes £1.1bn more expenditure than Thames Water’s earlier PR24 business plan submitted in October.
Since its submission last October, TWUL has discussed the content of its PR24 business plan extensively with its regulators and key stakeholders. The £1.1bn increase in AMP8 total expenditure will be directed to projects benefiting the environment.
As well as allowing TWUL to deliver more environmental projects, a rebalancing of operating and capital expenditures means there is no resulting increase in projected customer bills, which is estimated on average to be £608 by 2030.
TWUL will continue to look for opportunities to deliver more investment in AMP8 and has proposed that a further £1.9bn of potential investment is placed into a “Deliverability Assessment Mechanism”.
If TWUL was to invest the full £1.9bn in AMP8, then annual average customer bills would increase further by £19 over that period.
Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said: “Our business plan focuses on our customers’ priorities.
“As part of the usual ongoing discussions relating to PR24, we’ve now updated it to deliver more projects that will benefit the environment. We will continue to discuss this with our regulators and stakeholders.”
Thames Water is the UK’s biggest water and wastewater services provider. But the business has been struggling with a multibillion-pound debt pile and there have been reports that it could collapse or be nationalized if it is unable to agree on a business plan which is acceptable to Ofwat and its investors.