Thames Water intentionally diverted millions of pounds pledged for environmental clean-ups towards other costs including bonuses and dividends, the Guardian can reveal.
The company, which serves more than 16 million customers, cut the funds after senior managers assessed the potential risks of such a move.
Discussions – held in secret – considered the risk of a public and regulatory backlash if it emerged that cash set aside for work such as cutting river pollution had been spent elsewhere.
The cheapest electricity in North America comes from a crown corporation. Quebec’s government got a loan from the US, passed a law to buy all the stocks of energy companies for a set price and just started running the thing. Three years later the loan was repaid and profits started going to the government’s coffers instead of investors.
People believe that nationalisation means starting from scratch but nationalisation just means changing the investors for the government. Hell, the new crown corporation can even keep the same board if the board members are willing to work with the government’s internal regulations.
And in Quebec, I pay $0.06 (less than $0.05 US) per kilowatt hour for my electricity, which is generated by a dam just a few minutes away from me. In California, I believe that the rate is over $0.30/kWh.