Financial Indicators of Sustainable and Financialised Municipal Water Infrastructure

Abstract

Organisations that operate utility infrastructure, such as water and electricity, within the municipal context have choices to make in terms of their preferred business model. Such choices include their business goal, implementing agent, and market structure. This study focuses on two of the possible business goals, namely to deliver a ‘sustainable service’ or a ‘financialised service’, defining these terms and exploring the general characteristics of the types of organisations involved in each, such as ownership profiles and exposure to financial market instruments. The study then goes into detail for two relevant case studies, which are Joburg Water, South Africa as a sustainable service, and Thames Water Utilities, England, as a financialised service. It takes a closer look at ten specific financial indicators calculated from the 2021/22 financial statements of Joburg Water and Thames Water Utilities. The study concludes with a tentative proposal for the financial indicators of sustainable and financialised services.