Water UK confirmed how the above-inflation price hikes – a 26% increase on the previous year – will impact household bills. The price increase will see the average annual bill rise from £480 to £603 in the next year alone.
Exactly how much your bill will go up depends on where you live, how much water you use (if you have a water meter), and the tariff you’re on. There are significant variations between different water companies, meaning thousands of water customers will see much bigger hikes.
Southern Water customers will be hit with a 47% increase, while Hafren Dyfrdwy, South West Water and Bournemouth Water bills will rise by 32%, Thames Water will go up by 31%, and Yorkshire Water will rise by 29%.
Ofwat outlined forecast bill rises in December, which would cover the next five years. But the price increases confirmed today are higher than those announced by the regulator, with the calculations now including inflation.
David Henderson, Water UK’s chief executive, said: “We understand increasing bills [are] never welcome and, while we urgently need investment in our water and sewage infrastructure, we know that, for many, this increase will be difficult.
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“This is why water companies are more than doubling the level of financial support for customers, with £4.1bn to be made available over the next five years.
“Water companies will invest a record £20bn in 2025-26 to support economic growth, build more homes, secure our water supplies and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”
‘Absolutely scandalous’
The price increases have been heavily criticised by campaigners after suppliers paid out billions to their shareholders while polluting rivers.
Mike Keil, Consumer Council for Water’s chief executive, said: “These rises are the largest we’ve seen since privatisation and will heap considerable pressure on millions of customers who are already having to make difficult choices.
“Customers want to see investment in improving services and cleaning up our rivers, but that can’t come at an unbearable cost to struggling households.”
Tim Farron MP, Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesperson, said: “It is absolutely scandalous that customers will now have to pay through the nose for the shocking failings of water companies. The whole thing stinks.
“The Government has gone nowhere near far enough in clamping down on these greedy firms and protecting people’s pockets from them.
“Their Water Bill has a gaping hole in it after failing to back a Liberal Democrat amendment [that] would have ensured that creditors, not bill payers, would front up the cost of bailing out these broken companies.
“Ministers have to realise this endless cycle of failure and customers paying for it will continue until Ofwat is ripped up and replaced by a new regulator that will clamp down on these firms once and for all.”
More support
Water UK also announced that water companies will increase support for low-income households. More than three million households will receive reduced bills and other forms of financial support worth up to £4.1bn over the next five years.
Most supported households will either be put on social tariffs or the WaterSure scheme to reduce their water bills. Customers who are struggling to pay their bills can also receive a range of support measures including payment breaks and debt forgiveness.
Water UK said the Government has taken steps to ensure funds raised by increased water bills are “guaranteed only to pay for investment in things that are genuinely new and genuinely needed”, such as meeting targets for water and sewerage systems. The industry body said that if improvements aren’t delivered, then customer bills will automatically be reduced by the regulator.
