Water companies should take their case to competition authorities if they are unsuccessful in their plan to increase their bills by up to 91 percent.

In a key week, regulator Ofwat will announce on Thursday how much each utility in England and Wales can charge its customers for water and sewerage over the next five years.

It could decide the fate of Thames Water, which supplies 16 million homes in and around London as it teeters on the brink with debts of £16 billion.

Thames Water says it will run out of cash by the end of the month unless it secures a £3 billion lifeline from its creditors.

On Tuesday, a High Court judge will hear from two rival groups of bondholders proposing their own emergency loan plans to prevent Thames Water from falling into special administration – a form of temporary nationalization.

Separately, Thames Water is in talks with suitors over an equity injection, with previous shareholders having declared the company “non-investable”. Potential buyers will be waiting to see whether Thames succeeds in its demand for a 59 per cent rise in bills over the period to secure much-needed investment in its creaking network of pipes and sewers.

Difference of opinion: Water companies want to increase their bills by £144 on average over the next five years, but Ofwat has provisionally capped the increase at £94

Thames recorded 17,554 storm surges in the first nine months of this year, compared to 14,428 during the same period in 2023. It blamed record rainfall.

Southern Water has outlined plans to increase its bills by 91 per cent – ​​the largest increase of any water company.

It remains under scrutiny after being fined a record £126 million in 2019 over “shocking” failures at its wastewater treatment sites. Each water company

in England and Wales, is being investigated for pollution, amid public outrage over huge dividends distributed to foreign shareholders and big bonuses granted to bosses.

Water companies want to increase their bills by £144 on average over the next five years, but Ofwat has provisionally capped the increase at £94.

Four water companies successfully challenged Ofwat’s latest pricing decision in 2019, winning a more generous settlement.

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