Auditel Consultant:
Adrian Burton

Water Company Profits

02 Jun 2010 | Filed under: Uncategorized

Why you should pay attention to your water bills just look at the profits made by the top UK water companies as reported in the FT last week.

Britain’s water companies reaped annual profits of more than £1.8 billion last

United Utilities recorded pre-tax profits of £529m in 2009.

Anglian Water owned by Osprey Consortium, made £445m in profits,

Southern Water, owned by US bank JP Morgan and Chase made £315m,

South West Water made £186m.

Severn Trent made profits of £541m an increase of 19% on the previous year.

Thames Water, owned by a consortium that is run by Australia’s largest investment bank, the Macquarie Group, posted record profits of over £610m.

Prior to privatisation of the industry it is fair to say there was a lack of investment in the infrastructure of the industry, however now bills have continued to rise over the past few years to pay for the replacement of old pipe work and to reduce leaks in the system.

The water companies are warning of more increases and are currently talking of up to 27% above inflation increases in bills over the next two decades.

Ofwat, the water regulator, is demanding that there be only modest rises in bills over the next five years. They have called for a 0.6% cut in water bills this year, then followed by four years of increases, averaging 0.5%.

So be prepared for your water bills to continue to rise, but check your bill carefully to ensure you are only paying for the water and charges applicable to your business.

We have just helped one haulage company obtain a £14,000 rebate for a charge he had paid since the year 2000 that was incorrect. This is one case there will be lots of others so be diligent about your water bill.