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Water bills set to soar
By Rebecca Atkinson
Water bills are set to soar over the next five years as utility companies unveil measures to invest in improving quality.
Ofwat, the regulator, is considering business plans from all water companies and will decide in the autumn 2009 how much firms can reasonably charge consumers for planned improvements, with new bills coming into effect in April 2010.
Thames Water, the biggest company with 13 million customers, says its bills will rise by around 3% above inflation over the next five years in order to support a £6.5 billion plan for water and sewerage services.
Meanwhile, Northumbrian Water expects increases of 1.3% above inflation and United Utilities (UU-) has said water bills will rise by just over 2% a year between 2010 and 2015, as part of its £4 billion investment plan.
Welsh Water, which has proposed a £1.5 billion investment scheme, does not expect the average household bill to change over the period beyond inflation.
David Owens, chief executive of Thames Water, says the increases mean the average customers will pay around £1 a day for water by 2015.
"For the last two years we have been drawing together our business plans for the next five-year period, which starts in 2010. [It] comes in at £6.5 billion, the highest level of investment proposed by a UK water company ever."
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