Why do UK water companies have a monopoly?

Question

We can change our electric, gas, telehone, internet, providers

but when it comes to water, you have to stay with the one company that serves your area.

Our company United Utilities, in 2007 made a profit of £561m

by increasing prices by 8.8%

This year profits fell to £478.3m (God Bless em) and the company would make a £1.5bn payment to shareholders

following the sale of the electric business."We had a successful year" said the boss Mr Philip Green, adding that the firm was confident of further good performances.

We the general public, have no say in who supplies our water

and if United Utilities wants to increase their profits they just raise their prices.

Answer 1

drives me mad too, thanks maggie x*x £644 water for a 2 bed house here in devon

Answer 2

Because otherwise they would not be able to make money in the real World.

I know it sounds like a rubbish no thought answer.  But I wonder!

Cheers

Roger

Answer 3

As has been said, blame Thatcher the milk snatcher.

I work for a water company and there is so much government regulation regarding what we can charge we may as well be a national utility once more. Don't worry, it *will* end up like gas and electricity: you 'll get the same water from the same supplier but A.N.Other Company Ltd printing your bill. And that is meant to be "Competition".

Water isn't like Gas and Electricity. There is no national grid for water. Some regions are hilly and rainy, some are flat and dry. The hilly rainy places get loads of free resources and can use gravity to move it from A to B. The dry flat places spend a fortune on electricity moving water (and sewage) from A to B, and they even have to pump it out of boreholes to meet demand.

Think of it this way; how much would you pay someone to deal with what you flush down your loo...

Answer 4

If its waste water, don't pay them.

By law they can't cut you off, and there's no point paying for something you can get for free.

Easy, no?

Answer 5

Instead of moping around why don't you buy some of the shares and get some of the dividends you keep moaning about?

They are monopolies because they WERE state owned, they were privatised in a slightly different way to the rest of the businesses that were sold off.

To people who hate privatisation - Pen pushing civil servants should not be let anywhere NEAR a business or service, why do you think the NHS is in the state it's in??? If a well known successful businessman ran it do you think it would be a shambles then??? Same goes for your local council, full of waste, c**p ideas and idiots - all of them pen pushing career politicians, not a brain cell between them.

Let the businessmen run businesses and let the politicians bicker,backstab and get their noses stuck in the trough.

Answer 6

They have a Monopoly because im sure from time to time they get bored on their lunch break and need something to kill time. They probably have something like Risk as well.....

Answer 7

Paid over £350 for water & sewage then applied for a water meter, which we cannot have because I live in a block of apartments, result: Assessed at single person rate and saved £200.