Ofwat has announced that it is opening an enforcement case into Thames Water to investigate whether its delayed delivery of environmental improvement schemes has meant that the company has breached its obligations.
Thames Water committed to deliver 812 schemes as part of the Water Industry National Environmental Programme (WINEP) during the period 2020 to 2025. Completing these environmental schemes on time is essential for companies to ensure that they are compliant with statutory requirements. However, as part of Ofwat’s monitoring and engagement, Thames Water alerted Ofwat and the Environment Agency that it will be unlikely to deliver more than 100 of these environmental improvement schemes on time, by 31 March 2025.
Lynn Parker, Senior Director for Enforcement at Ofwat, said:
“Customers have paid for Thames Water to carry out These essential environmental schemes. We take any indication that water companies are not meeting their legal obligations very seriously.
“Therefore, we have launched an investigation to understand whether the delayed delivery of environmental schemes means that Thames Water has breached its obligations.
“If we find reason to act, we will use our full range of powers to hold Thames to account for any failures and will require them to put things right.”
While Ofwat has concerns which it must investigate, opening an enforcement case does not automatically imply the company has breached their obligations. Once Ofwat has fully investigated, it will publish details of its findings and, where appropriate, any proposed action to remedy any identified breaches.
