How much water bills will be increased

Ofwat’s 2024 price review indicates a price limit of a 21% increase between 2025-2030. This will be £21 extra per year over this period for households.

The increase in bills is to allow water companies to repair their mismanagement and sewage disaster. In 2023, Friends of the Earth found 68,481 incidents of sewage released into England’s seas. Water companies are polluting all seas, lake and rivers through faulty pumps as well as their management to divert the water rather than utilising treatment plants which costs the companies money.

This shocking act against their customers has gone without heavy punishment and now water bills are set to increase too.

Ofwat sets the limit of how much water companies are allowed to raise their bills for customers. Increasing water bills should mean cleaner water, you would think, however, Water companies report that the latest limit of a 21% increase over the next 5 years will not be enough to cover the repairs and stop the polluting of England’s waters.

The proposed increase is a third less than the amount requested by water firms, which have argued companies must be able to charge more in order to spend money on fixing leaks.

The BBC report that Ofwat are also proposing a ban on director bonuses until leaks and sewage spills are dealt with. This comes from critics calling out the water companies for prioritising bonuses and shareholder dividends over investment into the quality of work.

 

Thames Water in debt

The water company, Thames water which cover London and Thames valley consisting of over 16 million customers is in debt £15.2 billion.

If the company does not manage this they might be bought by the government to keep the water supply running to its customers.

Their £1.8 billion funding should keep it going until May 2025.

 

Penalties for water companies

Ofwat review the water companies every 5 years to ensure companies are charging customers fairly for their services taking into account any expenses needed for the water companies.

If a company does not meet their targets they face penalties, for 2024-2025 companies will be paying £114 million in penalties. This money is invested into the HM treasury.

 

Average water bills

Your water supplier will depend on your location, unfortunately there is no choice in which water company you can have.

At the beginning of 2024 the average water bill was £448 a year which would be £37.30 a month.

The most expensive water supplier is Wessex Water with an average monthly bill of £42.

 

How is your water bill calculated?

If you have a water metre then the company will usually take a reading every 6 months and bill you for the amount used. If not they will base it off of the price of their unit rate and the average usage of water for the size of your property and area. This means without a water metre your bill will be less accurate to your specific usage.