VIEWPOINT

摘要

Credit ratings are no measure for long term The long-term economic impact of a systematic short-term view on investment is damaging water companies' credit rating positions. While costs need to be controlled in an economy that is still struggling to grow, and climate change effects becoming more apparent, the UK's water companies are limited in their ability to adopt long-term investment strategies to protect themselves, in terms of resilience and maintaining sufficient cash flow to deal with unexpected events. The Gloucestershire floods in 2007 and extreme cold in Northern Ireland last winter resulting in burst mains, are just some examples of where unexpected costs have been incurred in order to deal with an unforeseen situation, leading to financial shocks.