Thames Water has set a deadline for Ofwat – which is apparently a thing that can happen?

The Times has announced the news that failing Thames Water set a deadline of one month to make an agreement with Ofwat. The private water company is pushing for the regulator to ease off on its penalties for missing performance targets.

Yes, this is exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.

Delaying tactics from Thames Water

The water company is already dying on its feet, having taken £1.5bn in emergency loans. This financial bung from its creditors (with suitably colossal interest) is due to run out by the end of the year. Thames Water now teeters on a knife-edge between temporary nationalisation and a takeover by its creditors, in the guise of London Valley & Water (LVW).

Ofwat has already deferred the majority part of a £127m fine for Thames Water’s laundry list of environmental crimes. And that’s not even mentioning the internal dividends it continued to pay to its shareholders….

Thames Water – and LVW, for that matter – has claimed that its current five-year funding settlement to Ofwat is unworkable. The regulator set targets to reduce leaks and pollution, but Thames Water has stated that this will obviously result in millions in penalties. Because, you know, Thames Water causes a massive amount of pollution.

Now, the water company is threatening to ask the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for an even more lenient deal. The deadline for the referral to the CMA is October 22nd. Thames Water is gambling that Ofwat will back down and relax its penalties, rather than risk the CMA stretching the uncertainty of its future into next year.

London Valley & Water: doing less, for you

If Ofwat does strike a deal, it increases the chances of creditors LVW swooping in to take over. LVW have already pledged to do even less to fix the mains and pollution than Thames Water. Sure, this means more pollution for you and me – but at least the company will be back on its feet. And in the end, isn’t that the important thing?

People following the issue on social media have been suitably outraged:

"Thames Water sets deadline for Ofwat to relax penalty regime."

So much for all the rhetoric then, the "we're so sorry", "we're so embarrassed", "we promise to change".

TW's trying to bully Ofwat into letting them off £123 million worth of fines.https://t.co/aiJhfkbJCH

— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) September 23, 2025

They’ve urged the toothless regulatory body not to back down:

Dear @Ofwat

Thames Water doesn't have a leg to stand on, do not budget an inch

If the creditors don't like what you're offering, it's time for Special Administration and PERMANENT public ownership
(normal in 9/10 countries around the world)https://t.co/KdzUCkK2vp

— Cat Hobbs (@CatHobbs) September 23, 2025

And pointed out the fact that a company can get away with skipping payments when a private individual cannot:

'Dear Thames Water, I'll pay you 10% of my Water Bill in a few months time, with the balance to follow at the time of my choosing which may be many, many, years from now, if ever'.

I wonder how they would respond to that? https://t.co/nX3oZ1moND

— Steven Boxall (@RegenerationEX) September 23, 2025

The whole thing is a genuine farce:

When a failing water company is dictating deadlines to the regulator, you know you're in big trouble https://t.co/RkIszLxJFe pic.twitter.com/rBd1OAfhm2

— leanahosea (@leanahosea) September 23, 2025

Nationalise it

The alternative to letting Thames Water slip into the hands of its creditors is temporary nationalisation. Nationalisation campaign group We Own it shared a pledge pressuring MPs to retain Thames Water’s public ownership as a permanent arrangement.

⌛Time's running out for Thames Water.

The failing company will likely be put into a Special Administration Regime, a form of temporary nationalisation.

The government must then keep Thames in public hands.

Great to have the support of @AdrianRamsay! Get your MP to sign the… pic.twitter.com/dap7j9ADGm

— We Own It (@We_OwnIt) September 23, 2025

Because, you know, water is necessary for human life – and it’s absolutely fucking ridiculous that we allowed companies to profit from it in the first place.

Featured image via the Canary