According to the financial results for Glas Cymru/Dwr Cymru Welsh Water for the six months between April and September 2024, the company has delivered its largest half year capital investment ever.

Capital expenditure for this period totalled £295 million and the company is forecasting to complete £2.1 billion of investment for the five years to March 2025 (AMP7).

Part of this investment included £80 million that has been spent over the last four years to improve the river Wye and £20 million on the Usk. This is on top of ongoing projects that include £19 million to improve water quality in the Menai Strait and £9.4 million on the Cleddau.

After 3 years, the company successfully returned to the UK capital markets, issuing £600 million of green bonds to investors in September that reinforced its position as a premier credit in the water sector, allowing it to secure funding at a lower cost than its peers.

As it has reported, Welsh Water recognises clearly that there are key areas where its performance is behind target, including the number of pollution incidents, levels of leakage, and the length of time customers experience interruptions to water supplies.

The company is already implementing detailed plans to recover from being rated as 2 star in its Environmental Performance Assessment and being categorised by Ofwat as a company that is ‘lagging behind’.

Welsh Water said achieving this recovery across a period of sustained progress will require significant investment in improving the resilience of its assets.

If approved, the company’s plans for the five years from 2025-2030 will result in its biggest ever capital expenditure programme worth £4 billion, with £2.5 billion of that total invested to improve the environment. Ofwat is expected to announce its Final Determination for AMP8 in December.

Welsh Water will have £400 million of ‘shovel ready’ schemes due to be implemented in the first twelve months of the next investment cycle.

The utility said this “much needed increase in investment is not possible without a rise in customers’ water bills”, but the company is committed to continue to help its most financially disadvantaged customers.

Everything the company receives from customers is put to work in the business under Welsh Water’s “not for profit” model – it does not pay dividends to shareholders and is able to make £14 million a year available to support its most vulnerable customers.

The interim report also noted that over 130,000 customers are supported by Welsh Water’s Social Tariffs, that cap the amount they pay for their bills.

Glas Cymru Chairman Alastair Lyons said:

“Welsh Water is investing heavily to upgrade our infrastructure, enhance our processes, and deploy innovative solutions.

“We are committed to doing the right thing, recognising our shortcomings and addressing head-on the challenges that face us, with transparency and clear plans for improvement.

“As I prepare to retire as Chair at the end of the year, I would like to thank everyone in the business for their support and dedication over the years.”

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Chief Executive Peter Perry commented:

“Everything we do as a company is driven by a strong commitment to serve our communities and protect the environment.

“We take our responsibilities very seriously and we will rise to the challenge in those areas where our performance has not met the high standards that we expect of ourselves, or that customers expect from us.

“Our staff have worked hard over the last six months to place the company in the best position possible as we prepare for our new programme of investment for 2025-2030.

“This investment programme will be targeted at reducing our impact on the environment and focused on delivering the best possible service for our customers.”