Thames Water is drawing up an updated business plan as the troubled water company continues to scramble to raise funds to stay afloat, according to reports.
The company, the UK's largest water company serving 16 million customers, is reportedly developing a revised five-year spending plan that could be announced within days.
Bloomberg reports that board members are scheduled to meet today (Thursday, April 18) to approve the plan, and executives hope to announce the plan on Friday.
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In its original business plan, first published in October, the company said it wanted to increase customer bills by 40% to fund an investment program worth £18.7bn.
But the paper said water regulator Ofwat had imposed restrictions on the scheme, making it “uninvestable”.
This meant the funding crisis facing Thames Water deepened as investors withdrew a £500m emergency funding package that was due to be paid out at the end of April.
Additionally, Thames Water's holding company, Kemble Water Finance Limited, told creditors earlier this month that it had defaulted on some of its debt by failing to make interest payments.
Thames Water is reportedly preparing to approach lenders to fund its spending plans, meaning it could receive new financing.
The company, which already has net debt of nearly £15bn, has come under intense scrutiny after failing to meet targets for sewage spills and leaks.
We need the cash funding to advance our turnaround plan to meet our customer, environmental and other shareholder performance objectives over the next several years.
Ofwat is reviewing the plans and is expected to publish a draft response in June.
Thames Water has previously stressed that despite the financial difficulties, it continues to be “business as usual” for its suppliers.
The company declined to comment on the latest reports.
Thames Water is spending more than £17 million to increase wastewater treatment capacity at Witney WWTP by 66 per cent.
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The company said this would “increase the capacity to handle the large volumes of incoming sewage and reduce the need for overflows during wet weather.”
It comes as Thames Water comes under fire from open water swimmers in Oxford following an investigation by TV presenter Steve Backshall into releasing water into the river across the border in Buckinghamshire for 12 hours. That's what happened.
The water company uses stormwater overflow during heavy rains to drain excess waste and rainwater from a combined sewer system into nearby rivers and oceans.
Overflows help prevent rainwater and sewage from overwhelming the pipe network and backing up into people's homes and streets.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Taking action to improve the health of our rivers is a key focus for us, and we are leading the way with a transparent approach to data.
“We remain the only water company to provide live alerts on releases to help customers and environmental groups make informed decisions about swimming and activities in the river.
“Pollutants, animal faeces from livestock and wildlife, and runoff from farms and roads can also contribute to the hazards found in our waterways. So read the government's advice on open water swimming. I recommend it.”
“We've had excessive rain this winter, so our storm overflow system protects our customers' homes during wet weather by releasing diluted wastewater into the river instead of backing up into people's homes.” It worked for me.”