MRAG keeps up pressure on Thames Water
Sir,Your readers will be aware that the deadline for registration for the group legal action against Thames Water is today Friday, 2nd June. We have been advised that there is a directions hearing about the case at the end of June and a possible hearing of major legal issues in October this year.We will not, however, be sitting back whilst the case goes through the court process. We may not be able to change our water and sewage operator. However, Thames Water is owned by the RWE group which owns other utilities such as npower. I have, therefore, taken the step myself of switching my electricity and gas supplier from npower. I have saved myself money in the process and transferred to a company with more environmentally sound sources of electricity production and sent an open letter to Thames Water and npower executives telling them of the reasons for my decision. If anyone wants to know how they can do the same, please write to us at Mrag27@aol.com or at 345 St Margarets Road, TW1 1PW for details.People have suggested to us that after the OFWAT decision to allow Thames Water to spend additional funds, raised by increases in water rates, that the battle is over. However, the money allocated by OFWAT may not be enough and does not address issues of management. Furthermore, past experience and recent evidence suggests it will not spend all the allocation of £43 million set aside for work at Mogden, but will stick some in its back pocket.On the back of last year's huge rise in water rates, Thames Water is expected to announce huge increases in its profits this month. In spite of this, it has the worst record for loss of water via leakage in the country and refuses to commit itself to solving the problem at Mogden. It is this which led us to conclude that the legal action was necessary and that the battle to ensure that enough money is spent at Mogden to cure the problem is not over.Trevor WhittallChair, Mogden Residents Action Group
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