So, what is Southern Water’s claimed justification? Southern argues that it now requires exceptionally high capital investment to upgrade aging and decrepit infrastructure (engineering, pipework, water treatment, sewage treatment, environmental controls etc). Few would disagree. However, let’s just examine their rationale for why customers should foot this bill. Southern claims that over some years the company has failed to factor such needs sufficiently into its customer bills and now has to rectify this shortfall.

It seems that they are arguing that (a) customers must foot the bill for the company’s historical incompetence, willful neglect and financial mismanagement, since (b) the normal conventional sources of capital finance (banks, the markets, private equity etc) are already so weary and wary of Southern’s poor performance and reputation that they are resistant to risking any more of their money.

So, the mass of Southern’s customers, abandoned by Ofwat, the CMA*, the Consumer Council for Water, government Ministers, and MPs, are left defenceless to face the rapacious bills onslaught by Southern Water.

*Ironically, it’s the CMA that would be expected to come down hard against any company suspected of being engaged in mass price gouging, as it has done in other sectors such as pharmaceuticals (but not water). Why are all these authorities being so silent on why Southern Water should be granted free rein and so flagrantly against millions of customers?