Thames Water defers bill challenge to pursue last-ditch rescue

By Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Thames Water said on Tuesday it had agreed to defer its appeal of the regulator's decision on how much it can raise customer bills while it races to secure a rescue plan funded by its creditors in the coming weeks.

The water utility and its lenders are trying to secure a long-term rescue deal before the first tranche of an emergency lifeline runs out as early as the end of the year.

Its senior creditors presented their plan to fix the company's finances and prevent its nationalisation earlier this month, including writing off 7.5 billion pounds ($10.1 billion) of debt.

Thames said the appeal deferral would allow talks with its lenders, regulators and the government to continue in the coming weeks.

It said, however, that the move, which followed deferrals in March and July, did not mean it had dropped its challenge to Ofwat's ruling, which it argues does not serve the interests of its customers, communities and the environment.

The utility, which has 16 million customers, lodged its appeal in February after Ofwat said it could raise bills by 35% over 2025-2030, below the 53% increase Thames Water said it needed to invest in aging infrastructure like pipes and sewers.

Five other water companies have also challenged Ofwat's decisions about how much they could each charge.

Earlier this month, the competition regulator allowed the five to increase bills by an extra 3%, far below what they wanted, calling their request "largely unjustified".

The consortium of Thames lenders, named London & Valley Water, said on Tuesday it would continue to "work at pace" with all stakeholders to agree the terms of a deal that "avoids the unnecessary cost, risk and delay of a special administration".

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing By William James and Tomasz Janowski)