Warning millions will struggle to pay water bill rises

Millions of households successful England and Wales volition conflict to wage their h2o bills erstwhile they spell up, a user watchdog has warned.

The h2o regulator, Ofwat, has provisionally said bills would emergence by an mean of £19 a twelvemonth - oregon 21% - betwixt 2025 and 2030.

But successful a survey of 9,500 households carried retired by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), immoderate 18% said they were already struggling with bills and 40% said they would conflict to spend these rises.

Water companies said they were proposing an summation successful enactment to struggling households to support susceptible customers.

Ofwat and h2o firms person been locked successful tense negotiations implicit however overmuch they volition beryllium capable to complaint for the 5 years from April adjacent year.

In this large survey from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), customers crossed 19 h2o institution areas were presented with the projected measure rises that were adjusted for inflation.

Some 40% of the 9,500 radical asked said they would find measure rises hard to afford. Of those:

• 54% said they would person to chopped backmost connected non-essentials to wage for it
• 43% said they would usage little water
• 38% said they would chopped backmost connected nutrient buying and different essentials

While 75% of households surveyed supported their h2o companies' plans for investment, that fell to 58% erstwhile they were reminded of the associated measure rises.

Mike Keil, main enforcement of the CCW said: “These measure increases would enactment an intolerable strain connected the finances of millions of households."

Every h2o institution has a strategy which tin assistance trim your bills if you’re connected a debased income, but eligibility and enactment varies by company. The CCW is calling for a azygous societal tariff crossed England and Wales to extremity what it calls a “postcode lottery of assistance”.

Ofwat and the Environment Agency are inactive continuing with investigations into each h2o companies successful England and Wales aft sewage spills into England's lakes, rivers and seas much than doubled successful 2023.

Mr Keil said customers wanted to spot concern but besides "need to spot grounds their wealth is being good spent" to repair spot successful h2o firms.

In July, Ofwat provisionally said bills would emergence by an mean of £19 per twelvemonth betwixt 2025 and 2030 - totalling a £94 increase, oregon a 21% rise, implicit that 5 twelvemonth period. That summation does not see inflation.

The measure hike varies by portion with the regulator agreeing to a emergence of 44% for Southern Water, and 11% for Northumbrian Water.

Since July, immoderate companies person asked for further increases. For example, Thames Water, the UK's largest h2o company, was fixed the go-ahead to assistance bills by 23%. It has since said it needs to rise bills by 59%, successful bid to support operating arsenic normal.

The BBC understands Ofwat is considering permitting bigger measure increases for immoderate companies erstwhile it makes a last determination successful December, to bespeak higher financing costs.

Responding to the CCW survey, Water UK, which represents the sector, said companies wanted to supply much assistance to customers struggling with measure rises.

“We urgently request concern successful our h2o and sewage infrastructure," a spokesperson said.

He added the survey showed determination was wide nationalist enactment for concern to unafraid h2o supplies and halt sewage spills.

"However, we recognize expanding bills is ne'er welcome," helium said.

Ofwat said it would "fully consider" the findings from the CCW research.

"It is besides wide the bulk of customers accepted the concern being projected and the summation successful bills needed to money it, but it is important companies present the meaningful improvements this concern is designed to bring", a spokesperson said.

"Performance successful the past has not been bully enough. This is the situation the companies volition request to conscionable successful the years up – and we volition beryllium intimately monitoring advancement arsenic they do."