As hosepipe ban begins, how water bosses have pocketed huge bonuses

April 5th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Three executives at Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water supplier, were handed £2m in bonuses
Anglian paid out £1m and Southern Water dished out £400,000 – despite failing to meet their leakage targets
Water companies also gave a staggering £500m to their shareholders
This is despite 300m gallons of water lost every day and many companies failing to meet their leakage targets

By
Tamara Cohen

PUBLISHED:

18:14 EST, 4 April 2012

|

UPDATED:

01:51 EST, 5 April 2012

Four million pounds in bonuses have been paid to the directors of water firms – despite their failure to repair leaks which allow 300million gallons to be lost every day.

All but one of the companies, which today brought in hosepipe bans for 20million customers, handed rewards to their board members in the last financial year.

These include £2million for three executives at Britain’s largest water supplier Thames Water, whose highest paid director, understood to be chief executive Martin Baggs, took home £1.67million in 2010/11.

Parched: Cracked and dried mud below a bridge crossing the dry River Kennet in the village of Lockeridge, near Marlborough this week

Britain's water companies have to failed repair leaks which allow 300million gallons to be lost every day

Britain’s water companies have to failed repair leaks which allow 300million gallons to be lost every day

More than £1million was paid out by Anglian Water and more than £400,000 by Southern Water, even though both failed to meet their leakage targets last year.

The daily loss of 300million gallons – enough to service the needs of 11million consumers – has made a big contribution to the water shortage.

The Mail can also reveal that an astonishing £500million was paid to the water companies’ mainly foreign shareholders for the six months to September 2011 – when drought was already blighting the East of England.

Critics say this money could have been better spent fixing Britain’s fragile pipe network.

Almost £300million was paid to investors in Anglian Water, owned by a Canadian and Australian-led consortium, £179.5million by Thames Water, which is majority owned by Australian bank Macquarie, and £16million by South East Water owned by a Canadian company.

Sutton and East Surrey Water, owned by Deutsche Bank, paid out £2.65million to shareholders. Veolia and Southern Water did not pay dividends in that period.

Poster being issued by Britain's biggest water company Thames Water on drought conditions

Poster being issued by Britain’s biggest water company Thames Water on drought conditions

The payouts will infuriate customers who are banned from using hosepipes for gardening, cleaning or paddling pools from today by seven firms – the most extensive ban since the drought of 1976.

Companies have blamed the restrictions on chronically low rainfall for the past two years. Anyone caught breaching the ban faces a £1,000 fine.

Labour’s water spokesman Gavin Shuker said: ‘On the day millions are made the subject of a hosepipe ban, in the week of inflation-busting price rises, customers will find these bonus payments hard to swallow.’

'Typical! The moment you defy the hosepipe ban the water freezes'

Both David Cameron and Business Secretary Vince Cable have recently spoken out about bonuses. Mr Cameron said ‘everybody’ had to do a better job at ‘explaining how pay is linked to performance.’

Bonuses and shareholder dividends for the financial year 2011/12 which ends this week, will be announced by water companies in June.

Their profits have soared since privatisation in 1989 as a string of financial conglomerates have bought and sold the utilities in quick succession. Anglian Water – which serves 5million customers in one of the worst-hit drought areas – announced profits of £709million last year. This was around double the 2008 figure.

Thames was bought by the Australian firm Kemble Water after a disastrous few years under German firm RWE which bought the company for £4.8billion in 2000, and sold it for around £8billion six years later.

Water companies have stressed that an hour using a hosepipe wastes the same amount of water a family of four uses in a week, and that savings now will prevent further restrictions later in the year.

A Thames Water spokesman said half of £1.98million bonuses were incentive plans from previous years only paid if the directors meet tough financial targets.

He added the company invests £1billion a year in improving pipes, sewers and other facilities.

Anglian has not banned hosepipes for 20 years. South East Water said it had to pay a reasonable return to investors who had helped fund improvements to its water supply infrastructure.

Restrictions are likely to last all summer, even if there is rain in the affected areas. Winter rainfall, as low as 40 per cent of the average in some areas, has left reservoirs and rivers low.

Nick Ellins, of industry body Water UK, said: ‘Water companies are required to meet their customers’ needs and statutory obligations efficiently, within price limits set by a regulator.

‘They also have to ensure that they win their investors’ confidence, by delivering a fair return on the investments made.’

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A country that has been surrounded by water for thousands of years and still we run short it is without doubt the water companys that are to blame for not investing money into repairing old pipes and leaks and to turning sea water into tap water but no all they are interested in is PROFIT privitization is no good when it comes to esentual things and we will see that happen in years to come with our dear nhs

– john , w. mids, 05/4/2012 14:30

The main reason we were given in support of water privatisation was that the pipework / infrastructure needed a lot of money spent on it, so whoever bought the various water companies knew exactly what they were buying from day one, if we were going to end up paying for the repairs anyway what was the point of privatisation, personally I don’t agree with privatising national utilities, they should have been licensed or franchised with the infrastructure still owned by the country, as it is all we’ve got is another set of incompetents running the utilities into the ground, whilst lining their own pockets.

– Peter, Northamptonshire, 05/4/2012 14:28

To Howard the first. You are damned right they should be renationalised! And I’m not a lefty, I’m right of cente. The railways should be re-nationalised. Energy suppliers should be renationalised. The NHS should NOT be denationalised. These organisations are too important to be left in the hands of people whose first (And only) priority is profits for their shareholders. The inefficiency of nationalised industries can be tackled and corrected. So please, you red arrowers don’t present that old excuse.

– skeptick, blackpool, 05/4/2012 14:15

If privatised water companies can make such huge profits, I am baffled as to why a state owned, national water company covering the whole of Britain – could not produce equal profits and use those profits to reduce our water bills and invest in the infrastructure? Why were water, gas and electricity, absolutely vital for our existence, taken from the state in the first place? I bet France has control over its water, gas and electricity.

– William Boreham, Kingston upon Thames, 05/4/2012 14:05

Serves all of you Tories right, no point whinging about it now. Another great privatisation success story

– Fran, Ireland, 05/4/2012 13:58

If the water companies are struggling now What about when the Olympics start? all those extra visitors having showers, baths and flushing toilets.

– Gerald, Lancashire, 05/4/2012 13:45

This is an absolute insult, Water Board Bankers and non deserving Shareholders,What part of You have to EARN the bonus do these idiots not understand.All of the water boards in the drought areas have not got any where near the repair of Leaks Targets.In plain English this means they are inefficient which in turn means NO BONUS OR SHAREHOLDER payments.The Water Boards are their own worst enemy,since privatisation all profits should have been ploughed back into the supply of water,not into fat cat payments.All drought order Water boards need to have just 1 year to correct the situation if not their licence’s removed,the excuse it did not rain is so much rubbish,most of the public are aware of the way forward,and yet the so called professionals do not appear to have a clue

– mel , southeast, 05/4/2012 13:24

British water should belong to the people of Britain only as (albeit badly) represented by the government of the people – i.e. Re-nationalise !

– Howard the 1st, London, UK., 05/4/2012 13:12

Don’t really care since it does not affect me as there is enough here.

– Alvin, Shetland, 05/4/2012 13:09

I understand the drought which apparently has caused the hose pipe ban will also cause an increase in the cost of vegetable. It seems M P’s are giving themselves another pay rise.

– Peter, Grimsby U K, 05/4/2012 13:04

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