United Utilities and Pennon to hike dividends in line with inflation as customer bills rise January 29, 2025 United Utilities and Pennon Group plan to increase dividends as consumers grapple with significant bill increases over the next five years. The water firms on Wednesday both said dividends would rise in line with inflation each year until 2030, following Ofwat’s final determination in December. The regulator’s ruling, which sets customers’ bills for the next [...]
Severn Trent hikes dividend despite balance sheet concerns January 24, 2025 Severn Trent, one of the UK’s biggest water companies, has announced plans to hike its full-year dividend despite coming under fire for allegedly inflating its balance sheet using an accounting trick. The utility was accused by BBC Panorama last month of claiming a £1.68bn investment in its accounts which in reality had no value to [...]
Water bills set for hefty hike as Ofwat judgement looms December 18, 2024 The water regulator Ofwat is set to allow bills to rise by at least 21 per cent in the next five years, as part of its long-awaited decision on the financial future of the scandal-hit industry on Thursday. Ofwat will reveal its final determination for how much water firms are allowed to hike their bills [...]
Water bills set to rise by a fifth as government calls for ‘complete reset’ of sector December 15, 2024 Water bills are set to rise by at least 21 per cent as the government slams a "failure of regulation and governance" within the sector.
Thames Water reports surge in pollution incidents as debts swell December 10, 2024 Thames Water saw a 40 per cent increase in pollution incidents in the first half of its financial year as its debts continued to spiral. The company reported 359 so-called category one to three pollution incidents in the six months to September 30, blaming an especially wet spring and summer. Debt levels were £15.8bn at [...]
Yorkshire Water hikes dividend despite pollution remaining ‘too high’ November 29, 2024 Yorkshire Water, which serves more than five million customers across the region, has hiked its dividend during the first half of its financial year despite pollution levels remaining “too high”. The provider paid out dividends totalling £37.5m in the six months to 30 September, 2024, up from the £17.7m during the same period in 2023. [...]
South West Water customers given £450m in subsidies while firm dished out £1.5bn in dividends November 25, 2024 South West Water customers were given nearly half a billion pounds in government subsidies to keep their bills down, despite the water firm shelling out three times that amount in dividends to shareholders over the same period. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been giving people in South West Water’s catchment [...]
Severn Trent hikes dividend as profit nearly triples November 20, 2024 Coventry-headquartered Severn Trent was fined more than £2m for polluting the River Trent near Stoke in February.
Water firms’ industry body: Dividend payouts haven’t affected infrastructure investment September 1, 2024 Water companies would be in a similar state today even if they hadn't paid out millions in dividends, the boss of their industry body claimed.
Water firms warn of ‘material risk’ to stopping sewage leaks with Ofwat bill cap August 28, 2024 Plans to cap water bill increases at £19 per year would prevent suppliers from raising enough cash to improve performance, Water UK said.