Expert says water privatisation will mean higher bills Professor David Hall, author of the most
comprehensive report on the proposed reform on the Water Service, has said
that the inevitable result of privatisation would be higher bills.
In an interview conducted during a recent visit to Belfast to address anti-privatisation
activists he said that privatisation would “only increase the coast and
increase the prices”. The reason for this is that it costs
more for a private company to borrow the money required to maintain the
network. According to Professor Hall - “if you borrow capital through
Government or through a Government company, it is cheaper in terms of a
lower interest rate than if a private company borrows.” He calculates
that if the water industry in England was renationalised it would actually
save £900 million every year, the equivalent of 10 – 12 percent of
the current average annual water bill. When asked about what local
politicians should do about the Water Service, Professor Hall’s advice
is clear - “do the figures and very rapidly abandon the idea of privatisation
… keep it in the public sector”.
|