Thames Water is expected to reach a pact with regulator Ofwat for Britain’s largest water supplier to avoid new fines until 2030, the Financial Times said on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The water regulator plans to accept “undertakings” instead of financial penalties as part of a rescue deal currently under discussion with the company and senior creditors, the newspaper said.
Performance targets on pollution, leakage and other areas will either be suspended or significantly modified, it said.
Thames Water still faces Environment Agency fines and legal cases, the FT added, without specifying the size of the fines.
Ofwat must put any deal out for a three-month public consultation, the newspaper said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Thames Water, which has been at the centre of a sewage scandal in Britain, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ofwat did not comment on the FT report, but said it is engaging with London & Valley Water and reviewing its plans to improve operational performance and financial resilience for customers and the environment.
Thames Water, which has 16 million customers, has been fending off financial collapse since 2023 as it grapples with debt of nearly 20 billion pounds ($26.47 billion) in a sector where the regulator limits price increases.
As part of the rescue deal being discussed, a group of the company’s creditors has offered 3.35 billion pounds of new equity and up to 6.55 billion pounds of new debt.
Without an agreement between the regulators and the creditors, Thames Water is likely to end up in the government’s special administration regime, a form of temporary nationalisation.
($1=0.7556 pounds)
(Reporting by Chandni Shah）
