In October 2023, Thames Water Utilities Limited submitted its PR24 business plan for the 2025-30 regulatory period (“AMP8”) to Ofwat, proposing a total expenditure of £18.7 billion, more than double the level of investment being made in the current five-year regulatory period.
Since its submission last October, TWUL has discussed the content of its PR24 business plan extensively with its regulators and key stakeholders. As a result of this engagement, TWUL has announced that it has now submitted an update to its PR24 business plan showing a £1.1 billion increase in AMP8 total expenditure to £19.8 billion which will be directed to projects benefiting the environment.
TWUL states that as well as allowing the company to deliver more environmental projects, a rebalancing of operating and capital expenditures will mean there is no resulting increase in projected customer bills, which are estimated on average to be £608 by 2030.
TWUL has said it will continue to look for opportunities to deliver more investment in AMP8 and has proposed that a further £1.9 billion of potential investment is placed into a “Deliverability Assessment Mechanism”. This means if TWUL was to invest the full £1.9 billion in AMP8, then annual average customer bills would increase further by £19 over that period.
Chris Weston, CEO 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.”
Responding to today’s news, Mike Keil, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said:
“On the surface the proposal for more investment from Thames Water is a positive step for its customers that have endured some of the worst customer service in the sector. We should not lose sight of the fact that only 16% of its customers thought the company’s proposed bill rises in its five-year plan were affordable. This announcement appears to offer nothing to ease the fears of those already struggling to pay.”
