Water companies in England, and one which covers a small part of Wales, have submitted five-year business plans to the industry regulator, Ofwat, laying out their strategies for increasing bills and making investments from 2025. Amid a row about who should foot the cost, the under-fire suppliers are asking customers help fund a record £96bn investment to fix raw sewage leaks, build new reservoirs and reduce leaks.
Much of the cash is to upgrade creaking infrastructure neglected since privatisation, even after £66bn in dividends were paid out to shareholders and £54bn of debts were accrued. The plans will now be reviewed by Ofwat, and final decisions on whether to accept them will be published in December 2024. Here’s what the largest companies are proposing, and how much bills could rise from 2025 to 2030.
