The largest water Kingdom Water Gare Dog has promised investor income guarantees, no competition and a minimum risk because it tries to set up more than 50 billion pounds sterling for projects to deal with water shortages.
Investors will have the “right to collect” customers’ income, “increase opportunities”, “capped liabilities” and the “positive investment” support from the government, according to an offpord briefing document seen by the Financial Times.
The document, presented to investors at a conference in London offices of the Jefferies Investment Bank last Friday, adds that there is “no exposure to competitive risks or to fail” – referring to the fact that there is probably no change of water request infrastructure.
Investment up to 50 billion pounds sterling is necessary to support around 30 new projects to improve British ruin infrastructure over the next 15 years. Already approved by AwatProjects include tanks, processing work and water transfer plans. Most of them will be delivered through private finance schemes and widely paid by an additional supplement to customer invoices.
This is controversial because the water companies have become a lightning rod for the anger of the public after a series of financial problemsWastewater leaks and supply breakdowns, as well as already strong increase in household bills.
Ofwat, which oversees the 16 private water and sewer companies in England and Wales, has the legal obligation to protect the interests of consumers, “while being appropriate by promoting effective competition”. He is also responsible for ensuring that water companies can finance their activities.
The investment conference is involved while ministers allow Ofwat to block new bonuses paid at Thames Water senior executives. THE The president of the besieged public service said this week These detention bonuses would be paid in the context of an agreement to obtain an emergency loan of 3 billion pounds sterling guaranteed in April with an interest rate of almost 10%.
Ofwat will receive new powers of next week to ban the “unprecedented bonuses” for the bosses of water companies where standards are not met. The powers would be retrospective for exercise 2024-25.
An official of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department said that it was “very likely” that the OFS would seek to recover Wames Water bonusof which the president of the company told politicians this week could reach 50% salary.
“Customers should not pay the price for mismanagement of water companies and we demand an improvement in performance,” said the manager.
Thames Water did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The Water Thames – and its current manipulation – has become an edifying history for industry and potential investors in the aquatic infrastructure of the United Kingdom.
The new projects are intended to address a shortfall of projected water Of almost 5 billion liters per day by 2050, according to Ofwat. The Environment Agency warned that the driest spring in 69 years has left the country in danger of drought this summer.
Investors, including Agilia Infrastructure Partners, Equitix and Aviva, attended the Friday conference, according to Ofwat.
The projects will remain outside the usual five -year regulation process, will have their own management teams and, in some cases, will be paid throughout the construction period. Investors will either be paid by a supplement on customer invoices throughout a license period of around 25 years, or throughout the life of the project.
Ofwat argues that there are measures in place to protect customers and that the creation of private vehicles will reduce costs. But additional costs are likely to concern consumers, who have already faced Increased invoice On average about 26% per household from April 1, the largest annual increase since privatization 36 years ago.
Mathew Lawrence, responsible for common wealth, a reflection group, said that new regimes were a “free card card for water companies”.
“They have not built enough water infrastructure and now they cannot afford it, so they are invited to set up much more debt balance sheets, which will also be paid by customers.”
Some of the programs, including New Abingdon and Fens tanks, are modeled on the tunnel of wastewater of the new Tideway Thames, for which the Londoners have paid additional supplementation – currently £ 26 per year – on their invoices since the start of construction. They will continue to pay the tunnel during its planned lifespan of 125 years.
Ofwat argues that the new PFI schemes are necessary to encourage competition and provide expertise because “many of these projects are of size and complexity that water companies have not delivered since privatization, and third party suppliers and investors can be better placed to deliver them”.
Martin Young, an independent water and energy consultant who attended the conference on Friday, said that “the size and scale of projects was such that it would create a whole new class of assets, and would be good with infrastructure investors and pension providers seeking to invest in long -term assets with predictable cash flows”.
No new reservoir was built during the 36 years which followed privatization. The new projects include 10 tanks, eight water recycling schemes, two desalination factories and nine transfer diagrams that will bring water from the wet areas north to the south of the south.
Ofwat said: “Committing to investors and the supply chain is essential for competitive purchases, which stimulates the value for money for customers. This type of engagement activity of the main stakeholders is important to optimize projects delivery, and we will work with companies to increase market engagement in the coming months.”
Jefferies refused to comment.
