Water companies have come under fire for putting shareholders above customers by paying out too much in dividends and not investing enough to reduce leakages, which could avoid the need for hosepipe bans in the first place.
The nine major water utilities made £18.8 billion in post-tax profits in the decade to 2016, but paid out almost all of that – £18.1 billion – in dividends.
United Utilities – headed by chief executive Steve Mogford – hopes the hosepipe ban will save 22 million gallons of water daily. However, more than four times that volume is lost to leaks each day in the area covered by the company, figures from water regulator Ofwat show.
Professor David Hall, a water industry expert at the University of Greenwich, said water companies should pay out less in dividends and instead use the money to cut leaks by improving their infrastructure. 'The money is available,' he said. 'But it's not reaching the right places – which are the leaks. It's reaching the wrong places – which are the pockets of shareholders.'
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