Britons face an increase of at least a fifth in water bills, and much more in some areas, as Labor claims businesses need cash to fix sewers.
Regulator Ofwat will announce a surprise round of increases later this week, despite fury over operators’ performance.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed today admitted that consumers will be “angry” at the looming increases, which are expected to add a minimum of £100 to average annual costs over the next five years.
Last week, Thames Water’s chief executive defended bosses sharing £770,000 in bonuses even as the company battled a huge mountain of debt and pumped out even more sewage. He has been pushing for bills to rise more than 50 percent by the end of the decade.
In an article for the Telegraph, Mr Reed argued that Water rationing could be necessary by the 2040s without drastic increases in investment.
Reed promised that the additional money would go toward fixing leaky pipes and building reservoirs instead of paying bonuses to executives.
Ofwat has been locked in intense negotiations with water companies over the size of the increases.
The watchdog initially rejected demands for increases of more than 21 percent over five years.
But remarkably, companies responded by asking for even more.. they wanted The average consumer bill in England and Wales will rise by 40 per cent by 2030, costing £615 a year.
Those proposals would have seen Southern Water customers hit with an 84 per cent increase over the period.
Activists and politicians criticized the companies for “greed”, saying they were “sucking the scum” from customers.
Steve Reed (pictured) admitted British citizens will be “angry” about the increase, which is expected to add an average of £100 to water bills over the next five years.
Ofwat will announce final figures on Thursday.
Earlier this year, businesses asked Ofwat for invoices for an average of £585 by 2030, around a third more than the current average of £439.
The regulator’s draft price review in July reduced those requests to an average of £535.
However, 10 of the 11 water companies responded with even larger requests than before.
Mr. Reed wrote: “If you see cracks in the wall of your house and do nothing about it for years, the problem gets worse and you end up paying more,” he said.
‘That’s what has happened to our crumbling water and sewage system. Customers have had to pay the price for conservative failure.
But Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins said: ‘Labour spent years making promises to the public about improving waterways and yet six months after the election all they do is talk about the conservatives. Labour’s lack of energy and action will not be erased when bills rise on their watch.
‘The Conservatives began crucial reform to ensure that, in the long term, Britain’s water system is clean and sustainable; That requires billions of pounds of private investment if payers are to be protected.
“The Government must determine what it is doing and who will pay for this investment, or our water bills will continue to rise under the Labor government.”
Labor is preparing to soften the increases with reforms that protect extra money from having to be spent on new infrastructure.
Reed said he would also push for new legislation requiring reporting of wastewater leaks.
The new law would mean water bosses who refuse to cooperate with spill investigations would face prison terms.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset our water sector and deliver the change we all want to see,” Mr Reed added.
“After years of pollution and deterioration, it is time to invest in new opportunities and restore our clean rivers, lakes and seas.”
Earlier this year, brazen water bosses submitted a request to increase bills by up to 84 per cent.
The 11 water and wastewater companies originally requested bill increases from the regulator in July, but these figures have now been revised by the companies.
Collectively, businesses want bills to rise by 40 per cent on average and cost £615 a year by 2030, compared to the current average bill of £439 a year.
This despite the fact that water bosses have been given dazzling bonuses.
The chief executive of Thames Water defended bosses sharing £770,000 in bonuses even as the company battled a huge mountain of debt and pumped out even more sewage.
Water companies supply England and Wales
Sewage is seen floating in the Thames near Windsor, Berkshire; Environment Secretary Steve Reed wrote: “Our rivers, lakes and seas are choked by pollution.”
Chris Weston insisted “competitive packages” were needed to attract “talent” to work at his crisis-hit firm, despite regulators saying the payments were unjustified.
Weston took up the role in January and received a £195,000 bonus for his first three months at the company.
Ofwat revealed last month that Thames Water was planning to use customers’ cash to pay bosses’ bonuses, but ruled it was “not justified”.
The company has debt of around £16bn and is trying to raise another £3bn to keep it going beyond the middle of next year.