No dividends until improvements
AN open letter to Susan Davy, chief executive of Pennon and South West Water (SWW): I write as a customer to complain about your handling of SWW over recent years.
Ofwat has given the go-ahead this month for higher water bills to finance infrastructure improvements. As I understand it, this is a direct result of water companies nationally amassing debt and using it to finance exorbitant salaries and bonuses for senior management, including yourself, as well as large dividend payments to mostly overseas shareholders.
The result: no money to pay for infrastructure improvements.
Now consumers’ bills are raised to finance future improvements. You are responsible for implementation in the South West.
SWW, and the other water companies, are abusing their position as monopoly holders. Taxpayers have already paid for infrastructure improvements over the years since privatisation. Now they are being betrayed and forced to pay twice. In my opinion, this verges on fraudulent; certainly morally, if not legally.
The Brixham cryptosporidium outbreak is still not resolved. Despite this, you gave yourself a pay rise of £217,000, from £543,000 to £860,000 in 2023/24. £860k! How do you justify such an inflated pay deal?
In 2021, you received £1.7 million, including £1.2m in bonuses, at a time of an EPA rating of one star ‘poor performance’. You also paid out a dividend of £127m to mostly overseas shareholders in the middle of the Brixham outbreak. You are taking customers for fools!
Given also that sewage discharges worsened significantly last year, I ask you to recognise you are delivering an unacceptably bad service to consumers, that you return some of the monies already paid to you personally, and that you cancel all shareholder dividends until considerable improvement has been achieved.
Peter Scott South Brent, Devon