Water bills are set to increase by an average of 21 per cent across England and Wales over the next five years as firms ramp up investment to fix their crumbling infrastructure and reduce sewage spills.
The regulator Ofwat has provisionally approved bill increases of an average of £19 per year up until 2030 to fund an £88bn upgrade to England and Wales’ sewerage infrastructure.
On average, customers will see their water bill rise by £94 over the next five years, but this will vary per region. For example, Southern Water bills will rise by £183, Thames Water by £99 and Anglian by £66.
The bill increases are a third less than water companies had asked for, with firms proposing bills hikes of up to 73 per cent between 2025 and 2030.
On Thursday afternoon the Environment Secretary Steve Reed will meet water company bosses to outline how the new Government will reform the water sector.
i revealed on Wednesday that initial steps will include a plan to refund customers when infrastructure money is not spent on upgrades, in a move to prevent customer bills being diverted to pay for dividends or executive bonuses.
How much your water bill is set to increase by
Ofwat has provisionally approved average bill hikes of 21 per cent over the next five years for water companies in England and Wales.
The amount varies per company and is a draft decision that will be confirmed later this year. Here is what you might be paying by 2030:
Anglian Water: 13 per cent increase from £491 to £557 Dŵr Cymru: 29 per cent increase from £466 to £603 Hafren Dyfrdwy: 32 per cent increase from £396 to £524 Northumbrian Water: 11 per cent increase from £415 to £460 Severn Trent Water: 23 per cent increase £403 to £496 Southern Water: 44 per cent increase from £420 to £603 South West Water: 13 per cent increase from £497 to £561 Thames Water: 23 per cent increase from £436 to £535 United Utilities: 21 per cent increase from £442 to £536 Wessex Water: 2 per cent reduction from £508 to £497 Yorkshire Water: 25 per cent increase from £430 to £537
Today’s decision is an initial response from Ofwat to water companies’ five-year business plans and a final decision is expected in December following a period of consultation.
It comes as water companies face intense scrutiny for their role in the pollution crisis facing Britian’s rivers, lakes and seas.
Latest annual statistics showed water companies in England spilled untreated waste from thousands of “storm overflow” points 464,056 times in 2023.
Water companies are allowed to spill untreated waste from these points during periods of intense rainfall to prevent their systems from becoming overwhelmed, but environmental groups have argued the sheer volume of waste being dumped proves Britain’s sewerage infrastructure cannot cope with population growth and climate change.
Firms have been accused of not investing enough in their infrastructure while paying large dividends to their investors.
In response to public outrage, water companies published plans to invest £96bn on their infrastructure between 2025 and 2030 if Ofwat approved large bill increases.
Ofwat said the bill increases approved today will allow companies to spend £88bn on their infrastructure, of which £35bn will be spent on reducing pollution, improving river quality and responding to climate change.
The spending approved by Ofwat is still four times greater than the the sector’s investment over the past five years.
Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said the decision was a “significant step forward in delivering the investment needed to protect rivers and seas, boost water supplies and improve resilience to flooding”.
But environmental groups and campaigners hit out at the decision to increase water bills to help pay to fix the sewage crisis.
Paul de Zylva, senior sustainability analyst at Friends of the Earth, said the decision “yet again proves that our current form of water privatisation is not fit for purpose”.
“Ofwat’s draft view shows it isn’t pandering to everything water companies wanted by giving them the sky-high bill increases they seek, but many will still see this considerable hike as unfair given how much we’ve already paid,” he said.
Water UK, which represents water firms, criticised Ofwat’s decision arguing that the reduction in proposed investment means “more housing will be blocked, the recovery of our rivers will be slower and we will fail to deal with the water shortages we know are coming”.
“For far too long, Ofwat has failed to be realistic about the levels of investment needed and what it will take to deliver and maintain necessary infrastructure,” a spokesperson said.
Today’s decision is viewed as a crucial moment in the future of Thames Water, Britain’s largest company which is saddled with £15.2bn debt and has warned it only has enough cash to last until May next year without another funding injection.
Thames Water’s investors have U-turned on promised funding for the business, arguing that Ofwat had made the company “uninvestable”.
Ofwat has refused Thames’ request to increase bills by 44 per cent over the next five years. It has approved a bill hike of £99, which is £92 less than the company asked for.
Commenting on today’s decision, Ofwat’s chief executive, David Black, said: “Let me be very clear to water companies – we will be closely scrutinising the delivery of their plans and will hold them to account to deliver real improvements to the environment and for customers and on their investment programmes.”
