A £250m hydro plant built to protect hundreds of thousands of homes from the effects of drought has been switched off, The Telegraph has learned.
As hosepipe bans were imposed on another million people in southern England, Thames Water admitted that a major water desalination plant opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2010 would not be operational until next year at the earliest.
The company repeatedly assured regulators in January that the plant in Becton, east London, was ready to be switched on “for drought use”, claiming it would help provide fresh drinking water to up to 400,000 households every day.
But The Telegraph has learned that the plant – the only one in the UK designed to turn salty seawater into fresh water – has actually been switched off amid questions over whether it was ever fully operational.
Thames Water has instead asked bill payers to stop washing their cars and watering their lawns ahead of an expected ban on hosepipes in the capital.
Senior industry sources suggest the plant has been effectively shelved amid concerns about its high running costs compared to customers’ demands to limit water use.
Thames Water made a profit of £488m last year. He has raised bills by more than four per cent this year, with the cost of a family home in his area rising to around £415 a year.
On Wednesday, a source at Ofwat, the water regulator, said it would investigate Thames Water’s management of the plant during this year’s shortage.
It comes after hose and sprinkler bans were imposed on households in Sussex and Kent, with water companies blaming the driest July on record.
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