Household water bills to rise by an average £31 a year from April
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Household water bills in England and Wales will increase by an average £31 a year over the next five years, regulator Ofwat has announced. The increase is significantly higher than the expected average rise of around £20 a year per household, outlined in the regulator’s draft proposals in July.
Ofwat said the increase would pay for a £104 billion upgrade of the water sector to deliver “substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment”. However, despite the average £31 a year increase figure, households will face a heavy average hike of £86 or 20% in the next year, excluding inflation, with smaller percentage increases in each of the next four years.
The average bill will rise by a total of £157 or 36% over the next five years. Ofwat chief executive David Black said: “Today marks a significant moment. It provides water companies with an opportunity to regain customers’ trust by using this £104 billion upgrade to turn around their environmental record and improve services to customers.
“Water companies now need to rise to this challenge, customers will rightly expect them to show they can deliver significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills. “Alongside the step up in investment, we need to see a transformation in companies’ culture and performance. We will monitor and hold companies to account on their investment programmes and improvements.
