Thames Water prospects have been assured that “absolutely nothing” will occur to their payments or provide, because the closely indebted agency scrambles to lift money from buyers to forestall its collapse.
Ministers have continued efforts to reassure the general public as Britain’s largest water agency struggles beneath a £14bn debt pile, with the federal government stated to be laying the groundwork for the agency’s emergency nationalisation.
Health minister Neil O’Brien instructed Sky News: “They are still in the process of finding further resources from their own shareholders and that’s the first place they should look to, obviously.
“Of course the federal government does have contingency plans if this does turn into an issue.”
Mr O’Brien refused to say if the utility agency might be taken into public possession as a final resort, insisting he was “not able” to disclose what the contingency plans are.
But in a message to Thames Water prospects he stated that regardless of the consequence: “Absolutely nothing is going to happen in terms of either their bills or their access to water, we have contingency plans – like we do in all of these network utilities – to manage any difficult situations.”
On Wednesday, Thames Water stated it was working “constructively” with shareholders to safe additional money.
The firm, which serves 15 million households, stated that it wants “further equity funding” on prime of the £500m it raised simply three months in the past.
The assertion got here after Sky News revealed the federal government is discussing inserting Thames Water right into a particular administration regime (SAR) that might successfully take the corporate into non permanent public possession if it collapses.
Such an insolvency course of is uncommon and was used when the power provider Bulb collapsed in 2021, sparking considerations that it might price taxpayers billions of kilos.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
Rebecca Pow, the water minister, didn’t say how a lot a authorities bailout might price when pressed on the matter by Labour within the Commons.
She insisted the water sector as an entire is “financially resilient” and the federal government is assured that Ofwat is “working closely with any company that would be facing financial stress”.
Read extra:
Ministers weigh contingency plan for collapse of Thames Water
Pressure on ‘rip off’ water trade unlikely to go away any time quickly
However, a number of studies on Thursday advised considerations about Thames Water’s funds had now broadened to different corporations within the trade.
And Kemi Badenoch, the enterprise secretary, admitted she is “very concerned” by the scenario.
Thames Water – owned by a consortium of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds – has come beneath stress in recent times over its poor efficiency in tackling leaks and sewage contamination, whereas going through criticism for handing out massive rewards to prime bosses and shareholders.
On Tuesday, Thames Water chief government Sarah Bentley stepped down with rapid impact amid mounting worries over the monetary stability of the corporate and criticism of her £1.6m pay packet regardless of the corporate’s environmental efficiency.
Content Source: information.sky.com