Thames Water's owners should foot the £195,000 bonus for its boss rather than customers, Ofwat is ex... عرض المزيدThames Water's owners should foot the £195,000 bonus for its boss rather than customers, Ofwat is expected to say.
The regulator is likely to tell blundering water companies today that any bonuses should be paid for by owners and lenders.
Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston, who took charge in January, defended his whopping pay cheque in July despite also claiming the company only had enough money to survive until next May.
But there are fears the company could go bust by Christmas.
Weston's mega bonus was awarded after just three months at the
helm of Thames Water - which doubled its sewage discharges from 2022 to
2023.
Ofwat's announcement is due to be part of an industry-wide update on executive pay and financial
resilience.
The regulator has new powers to prevent bonuses being funded by customers if a company has missed performance or environmental targets.
Weston, formerly of British Gas, defended big bonuses over summer, suggesting they are required to
attract the most talented leaders.
Thames Water's owners should foot the £195,000 bonus for its boss rather than customers, Ofwat is expected
to say
Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston (pictured) defended his whopping pay cheque in July despite also claiming the
company only had enough money to survive until next May
His near £200,000 reward came on top of a
basic wage of £242,000 for those first three months in charge - equating to an annual salary of £968,000.
However, it is unclear if the additional sum has actually been paid out yet,
according to the BBC.
When Watson took over, Thames Water was drowning
in £18 billion of debt.
Similarly debt-burdened Southern Water has already
announced its chiefs' bonuses will be taken from shareholders' pockets rather than those of
the customers.
But Thames Water has a history of clashing with its regulator, having seen its request
for bills to rise by 44 per cent above inflation by 2029 rebuffed.
Ofwat instead said it would allow bills to rise by 21 per cent on top of inflation, but Thames Water shareholders
did not accept this and walked away - leaving it effectively controlled by lenders.
Despite these troubles, Labour's new environment secretary,
Steve Reed, once again ruled out nationalising Thames Water when he spoke to MPs on Tuesday.
A review into the sector is due next June, but the next five years of Brits' water bills will be decided
by the end of 2024.
Thames Water declined to comment. Ofwat was approached for
comment.
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Thames Water's owners should foot the £195,000 bonus for its boss rather than customers, Ofwat is ex... عرض المزيد