News about David Black

Industry regulator Ofwat announced the rebate following its annual review of water and wastewater companies' performance in England and Wales. Ofwat said customer bills will be reduced in 2025-26 to reflect the penalties, with the total rebates calculated in December.

Water companies have been ordered to return nearly £158million to customers after falling short of standards, the regulator has said. Ofwat has said that water companies will have to pay a £157.6million penalty after missing key targets on reducing pollution, leaks and supply interruptions while customer satisfaction continues to fall.

Thames Water's proposal would see bills rise by a massive 52 per cent by 2030 - but there's a chance they could shoot up even further. The water company's new business plan could see costs skyrocket 59 per cent in the same period, which could see them hit £696.

Ofwat is set to impose an independent monitor on Thames Water after the debt riddled utility firm was stripped of two investment-grade credit ratings. The monitor will supervise Thames Water and report back findings to Ofwat, ensuring the group improves its performance via series of commitments, the regulator said.

Thames Water will be supervised by an independent monitor set up by the nation's watchdog to closely review its attempts to turn around its poor performance. The water company was slapped with a whopping £104million fine yesterday from Ofwat for failing to manage its sewage spills, as well as poor wastewater treatment. It announced that the monitor would have access to the company's financial information, and would report back to Ofwat on the 'meaningful change' taking place. This is one of four commitments the watchdog wants Thames to comply with, which also include developing a 'suitable' business plan to turn around the struggling business.

Ofwat today proposed £168million of fines for three of England's biggest water companies for failing to manage sewage spills. The water regulator proposed a £104million penalty for Thames Water, as well as a £47million fine for Yorkshire Water and £17million for Northumbrian Water, as the first batch of results from its biggest ever investigation into the industry. The penalties relate to water firms' management of their wastewater treatment and sewer systems after they were criticised for releasing too much pollution into rivers. But Ofwat insisted that the burden of fines would fall on investors rather than customers of the three companies, and would not result in higher bills.

Ofwat is proposing fines of £104million for Thames Water, £47million for Yorkshire Water and £17million for Northumbrian Water. The water industry regulator discovered the firms caused harm to the environment and their customers by regularly releasing sewage into rivers and seas rather than in 'exceptional circumstances' as the law allows.

Water regulator Ofwat will investigate Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent and United Utilities over whether they illegally discharged raw sewage when the weather is dry. David Black, Ofwat's chief executive, said: 'The fact that Ofwat now has enforcement cases with all 11 of the wastewater companies in England and Wales demonstrates how concerned we are about the sector's environmental performance. This is the largest and most complex investigation Ofwat has undertaken.' Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government will need to 'get to grips with' sewage and pollution, while Environment Secretary Steve Reed proposed new measures to reform the sector and 'fix our broken sewage system'.

Ofwat has given formal notices to Severn Trent, United Utilities, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, and Hafren Dyfrdwy to obtain evidence for its investigation. It said it launched the cases after analysis of the groups' environmental performance and data raised concerns that they 'may not be fulfilling their obligations to protect the environment and minimise pollution.'

Customers have been left outraged after water bill hikes were laid bare today, with prices set to soar by £94 in five years. Water firms suggested they needed to increase their spending by £29 million for running costs and to meet environmental targets set by the government. Regulator Ofwat has allowed firms to increase bills by 21 per cent, amid public outrage over polluted water ways and sewage spills - with 3.6 million hours worth last year alone.

Regulators have imposed a 'turnaround oversight regime' on Thames Water and opposed the company's planned 44 per cent hike in consumer bills over the next five years. In a draft verdict on England and Wales' water company business plans to 2030, Ofwat instead proposed Thames Water increase average yearly bills by 23 per cent to £535 over the period. Thames Water is in the grips of a funding crisis and has more than £15billion of debt. It said this week that it only has enough money to continue trading until the end of May 2025.

Customers have been ordered to pay nearly £40 million after the company was found to have deceived them over their history of dealing leaks and saving water. Ofwat said an investigation that began in May last year found evidence of a "significant lack of governance and management oversight" at Welsh Water, which led the company to misreport leaks and performance over a five-year span. Ofwat said Welsh Water would have to pay £39.4 million in redress for the company's failures on Thursday, with another £15 million to follow, which will lower bills for consumers.

Despite breaking his licence by changing his name, a fraudster who conned 1,500 pensioners out of £17 million in a solar panel scheme has avoided going back to jail. David Black (left), who is also known as Hardie, Diaz, and Stark, has been jailed for six and a half years for delivering the panels to victims through their Manchester company. The gang tricked investors out of a fortune, with the 40-year-old being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Liverpool Crown Court in 2018. Ludovic (right) - who was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years, was dubbed the company's 'ringleader' who enjoyed a luxury lifestyle while purchasing Lamborghini and Porsche sports cars, under plastic surgery, and going on holidays to Switzerland and Italy. David, a father of two, was released from jail in 2021 but he was banned from changing his name until he specifically informed the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). However, David Black to David Hardie in his company dealings, so potential clients would not be concerned about his criminal history.

If water companies want to frighten long-suffering customers, they could face fines of up to ten percent of their revenue from today. When water supplies are interrupted, water companies must address grievances and ensure customers are informed and assisted, according to Ofwat. "There are already too many instances where customers are dissatisfied with their services, and the water company does not have their best interests at heart," the company said. According to Ofwat's annual review into results, customer satisfaction dropped for the majority of businesses in 2022-23. It also dropped the previous year, and it's now lower than it was in 2020/21.

The watchdog is investigating South East Water because 'too many customers have been failed too often by the vendor's negligence.' Ofwat, the authority that oversees water companies in England and Wales, has been investigating potential failures by the utility company to design and maintain an effective water supply system (pictured inset). It comes after the company introduced a hosepipe ban earlier this year, chastising more people working from home for rising demand and testing' its infrastructure. South East Water is a water company that serves Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. Ofwat said that the company is now the worst performer for water supply disruptions in England and Wales, with the company being forced to provide bottled drinking water in some regions earlier this year (pictured left). David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, is on display at the right.

According to Water UK, the water company trade body, the average household will pay an additional £7 a month in water bills by 2025, or £84 a year. However, the amount you pay will depend on where you live and how much water you use - if you have a water meter.

Thames Water is expected to be fighting to get new funds in order to save the company as customers fear price hikes. As it fights to survive amid its $14 billion debt, Britain's biggest water company, which serves 15 million customers, is holding talks on new funding to ensure its long-term viability. It has now emerged that investors, including Canadian pension fund Omers and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), have committed to offering new equity for Thames Water. According to insiders, more information is due to be revealed to the stock exchange on Monday morning.

The head of industry regulator Ofwat has warned that water companies are expecting further price increases for households. Thames Water customers will not have to pay the bill if the debt-ridden water company dies, according to chief executive David Black. Supplier bills should rise to fund infrastructure development, according to Mr. Despite increased scrutiny over financial stability, dividend payouts, and environmental risks, suppliers are continuing to invest in infrastructure development.

The water authority has stated that it was powerless to prevent Thames Water from racking up mountains of debt under New Labour's 'hands-off approach.' On Tuesday, David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, told members of the House of Lords industry and regulators committee that the watchdog should have intervened in 2006 to discourage the water company's then-owner, Australian investment company Macquarie, from borrowing too much.

Regulator Ofwat wants to minimize unnecessary compensation, but water companies, who claim that doing so would discourage them from recruiting new people in the Thames Water crisis, are fighting back. The company, the country's largest water provider, has debts of £14 billion. According to the most recent estimates, businesses in England and Wales have an estimated £65 billion in debt. Thames Water's chief executive, Sarah Bentley, who left abruptly last week last week, earned about £2 million last year, although she hinted that she would decline this year's compensation. However, high-earners are dispersed across the water sector, with Severn Trent's chief executive, Liv Garfield, pocketing £3.2 million last year. Despite the fact that the company had £8.2 billion debt, United Utilities boss Steve Mogford took home £3.2 million in 2022.

In Kent and Sussex, the bans went into place for South East Water's customers. Burst pipes from freeze-thaw hit 286,000 homes in December, and the hot weather resulted in 6,000 households losing electricity, low pressure, or even their supply cut off two weeks ago, with several schools closing down. Over two years, the company has paid two of its managers £1.7 million in salary and bonuses. 'Resilience of supplies is much better than what was expected,' Ofwat chief executive David Black said, and that he is worried about a ban being introduced during the year's first hot weather.

Since the company admitted that it failed to properly report leaks across its network, the company's revenues were much higher than it first expected, about 1.4 million Welsh Water customers will be given a £10 refund per person. Following the admission of the leakage reporting, Regulator Ofwat has launched an investigation into Welsh Water's leakage reporting for 2020 and 2021, and it's investigating whether further action needs to be taken due to the failures. In the coming months, Welsh Water said it would credit the £10 into the accounts of its 1.3 million household and 100,000 company customer accounts, totaling about £14 million.

South West Water of Pennon Group is facing another probe from Ofwat, with the company's regulator increasing its attention on the company's leakage results this time. On Tuesday, Ofwat revealed that it will now investigate the company's leakage and per capita consumption (PCC) metrics, with the watchdog looking at whether South West Water has previously released "timely, accurate, and complete data" in the past.

The industry regulator announced that it intends to approve 31 investment plans submitted by water companies, which include steps to improve water quality and installation smart meters. The first wave of investments is expected to begin in the next two financial years, from 2023 to 2025, with some projects scheduled to be completed by 2030.