UK Utilities: New PM looking to make an impact; Complexity lies in the details

Research evidence excerpt

UK Utilities: New PM looking to make an impact; Complexity lies in the details

Flash |

20 Jul 2026 02:11:00 ET │ 9 pages

UK Utilities

New PM looking to make an impact; Complexity lies in the details

CITI'S TAKE

We saw several UK utilities-related news over the weekend. The

Times (7/19) reported that incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham is

looking to place Thames Water into Special Administration while Sky

News (7/19) reported that investors of London & Valley Water consortium Jenny PingAC

(owner of Thames Water) have engaged litigation specialists Pallas +44-207-986-6974

Partners to explore legal options if the company is brought into public jenny.ping@citi.com

ownership. Separately, The Guardian (7/18) reported that Mr. Burnham is

Marc Ip Tat Kuen considering plans to cut energy bills through a combination of moving

levies on renewables into general taxation, reducing VAT on electricity, +44-20-7508-9453

marc.iptatkuen@citi.com removing the standing charge on gas bills and writing off £2.7bn in

consumer debts. The Times (7/17) also reported that Mr. Burnham is

considering transitioning older wind and solar farms onto fixed-priced

contracts, while The Independent (7/19) outlined Octopus Energy's power

market reform suggestions for the new government. Read on for our

views....

UK waters - While government intervention is generally viewed cautiously by the

markets, we believe any steps taken to bring financially challenged water utilities

into the Special Administration Regime (SAR) should help other sector participants

to move on and distance themselves from the reputational overhang associated

with the industry's difficulties, including companies that are otherwise performing

well. As we have outlined before, amidst the currently challenging public finance