Anglia Water emerged as one of the 10 private companies granted regional monopolies in England and Wales by the Thatcher government in 1989. It serves six million people.
According to Waterwatch, a non-governmental organisation which monitors performance, Anglia Water has made profits of up to 34 per cent on its turnover (£726 million in 2003).
Since privatisation, water charges in England and Wales have risen much faster than inflation -- partly to pay for investment, but also to fund substantial increases in dividend payments.
The cost of an average water and sewage bill from Anglia was £70 higher than the national average in 2002. However, it installs water meters free of charge for its customers.
David Hall of the Public Services Privatisation Research Unit said the water companies "have done more to undermine support for privatisation than any other group in the country".
Nearly all of the companies have had problems in maintaining supplies or avoiding pollution, or both. In its first 10 years Anglia was successfully prosecuted for 31 pollution incidents.