Bosses at the North West’s water provider United Utilities were among those of six Companies blocked from receiving £4m in bonuses for the last financial year
The Water Regulator Ofwat has published the figure in its latest performance related executive pay report today which details how the new rule on performance related executive pay (PRP) has worked since it was introduced in June 2025
The new rule on PRP, which is one of the powers given to Ofwat by the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, has been applied for the first time alongside the PRP cost recovery mechanism, which ensures that customers do not fund bonuses which do not meet Ofwat’s expectations.
Six water companies triggered the bonus ban rule for 2024/25 for a variety of performance failures, mostly involving category 1 pollution incidents, and all companies correctly complied with the rule by not giving their directors an annual bonus and other relevant performance related pay.Besides United Utilities,the companies in question were Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.
