MILLIONS of water customers will see their bills rise 36% by 2030, the regulator has confirmed.
Average water bills currently stand at £448 but will increase to £479 next Spring.
The biggest rise is by Southern Water, which would see bills for its customers in Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire rise by £642 between now and 2030.
That marks a rise 53% for its plus two million customers across the area.
This was followed by Severn Trent Water, where customers will see bills rise by £583 or 47% over the next five years.
The firm which covers the Midlands, South West, and north and mid-Wales originally asked for bills to increase by 54%.
Thames Water, which has been criticized for water leaks and sewage dumping, will ask customers to pay 35% more between now and 2030.
The firm originally wanted customers to face a rise of 53% or pay £667 more.
David Black, Ofwat chief executive, said today marks a “significant day” for water companies.
“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.”
He added that the regulator would “hold companies to account” on their investment programmes and improvements.
Ofwat warned in July that bills would increase by an average of £19 a year between 2025 and 2030.
The regulator said this rise was a third less than the increase requested by water companies, which had proposed an average increase of £144 over the next five years.
Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said these bill rises may be less than what water companies wanted but they are still more than “what many people can afford”.
He said: “Customers will be hit particularly hard from April with a large chunk of these increases frontloaded into next year – on top of inflation.”
Water firms do offer support to customers who struggle to pay, but how much support they receive varies from region to region.
Today’s hikes come as part of Ofwat’s 2024 Price Review (PR24) which covers the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2030.
It sets limits on what companies can charge their customers for water to cover the cost of repairs to the network.
Proposals for what these rises could look like were published earlier this year and the final plans have been confirmed this morning.
You can see the full list of water companies and the rises for customers over the next few years below:
It comes as water companies face criticism over record levels of sewage discharged into rivers and seas despite huge profits.
At the beginning of October, water companies were ordered to return £157.6million to customers after failing to meet pollution targets.
Each year, Ofwat evaluates the performance of England and Wales‘ 17 largest water and wastewater companies against key targets, including sewer flooding, supply interruptions, and water leaks.
For the second consecutive year, no company attained the highest rating, although four companies demonstrated improvement compared to the previous year.
As a result, millions of customers at 13 water companies will see their bills slashed next year as the watchdog issues fresh penalties.
The penalties for each water firm are as follows:
The regulator said that the exact amount that will be returned to customers will be finalised on December 19 and applied to bills from April 2025.
Water companies were set stretching targets for 2020-25 to deliver better outcomes, for both customers and the environment.
Where they fall short on these, the regulator imposes performance penalties resulting in customers being charged less than they would be the following billing year.
Performance penalties have totalled more than £430million since 2020.
Last year, Ofwat forced through bill reductions worth £177.6million.
On Thursday (December 19), Ofwat will confirm how much water companies are allowed to hike bills over the next five years.
In October, water companies requested increases of 40%, adding an extra £176 to a typical household’s costs and bringing the total to £615 per year.
The regulator said at the time: “We will consider this additional expenditure request as part of our final determinations.”
COMPENSATION for several common problems will see substantial increases:
it’s always worth checking if you qualify for a discount or extra support to help pay your water bill.
Over two million households who qualify to be on discounted social water tariffs aren’t claiming the savings provided, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
Only 1.3million households are currently issued with a social water tariff – up 19% from the previous year.
And the average household qualifying for the discounted water rates can slash their bills by £160 a year.
Every water company has a social tariff scheme which can help reduce your bills if you’re on a low income and the CCW is calling on customers to take advantage before bills rise in April.
Who’s eligible for help and the level of support offered varies depending on your water company.
Most suppliers also have a pot of money to dish out to thousands of customers who are under pressure from rising costs – and you don’t have to pay it back.
These grants can be worth hundreds of pounds offering a vital lifeline when faced with daunting water bills.
The exact amount you can get depends on where you live and your supplier, as well as your individual circumstances.
Many billpayers across the country could also get help paying off water debts through a little-known scheme and even get the balance written off.
Companies match the payments eligible customers make against the debt on their account to help clear it sooner.
If you’re on a water meter but find it hard to save water as you have a large family or water-dependent medical condition, you may be able to cap your bills through the WaterSure scheme.
Bills are capped at the average amount for your supplier, so the amount you could save will vary.
The Consumer Council for Water estimates that bills are reduced by £307 on average through the scheme.
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