How not to run a water utility
Let Thames Water go into administration. But after that, water bills need to rise
Clashes over the water supply turned deadly in “Chinatown”, a 1970s film set in Depression-era Los Angeles. “Middle of a drought, and the water commissioner drowns,” one character marvels. The casualties in Britain’s latest water-based drama are corporate. On April 5th the parent company of Thames Water, Britain’s largest water company, defaulted on £1.4bn ($1.7bn) of debt. An elaborate and protracted restructuring looms.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Pipe dreams”
Britain April 13th 2024
From the April 13th 2024 edition
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