Water bills are to rise by up to 40% to cover the costs of sewage pollution and climate change, according to reports. The Times reports that the rises will be formally announced in 2024 - taking the average household bill to £680 a year.
The rise will be on top on inflation. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will discuss the plans with Ofwat - the water regulator - at a meeting to discuss 'profiteering'.
Some areas already saw an 11 per cent rise in water bills last April. Southern Water is proposing to charge customers an extra £279 a year on their bills by 2030, documents from a focus group reveal.
Under the plans, which account for inflation, each household would have to pay on average 73% more by 2030 compared with today – a total of £759 a year. Anglian Water customers could face an increase on their bills of £91 a year – including £12 to help pay for investment in sewerage infrastructure – the company has said.
Water companies in England have announced a £10 billion plan to reduce the number of sewage discharges into rivers and seas, while apologising for the pollution.
Throughout the five years of the plan, they would have to find £959 more than if bills stayed at the same price as today.
Jeremy Hunt will question consumer watchdogs on Wednesday over what powers they can use to help lower prices as concerns grow that firms are exploiting rampant inflation to boost their profits.
He is set to meet the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and the regulators for the energy, water and communications sectors to press them on whether there is a profiteering problem and what they are doing to tackle it.
The meeting with the CMA, Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom comes after the Bank of England suggested some retailers were hiking prices or failing to pass on lower costs to consumers as a way of increasing their profit margins at a time of stubborn inflation.
This week, Ofwat gave water companies permission to spend another £2.2 billion upgrading their networks. The businesses will invest in 33 infrastructure schemes, with work starting in the next two years.
The lion’s share of the money – around £1.7 billion – will go to trying to tackle incidents where drains overflow when it rains.
The companies hope their efforts can reduce the number of spills by around 10,000 every year.
One of the investments will improve water quality at a swimming site on the River Wharfe at Ilkley, close to Bradford in West Yorkshire, and slash the number of spills into Lake Windermere.
Other projects include the installation of close to half a million smart meters, which can help companies manage usage better and detect leaks more quickly.
The approved schemes include a potential £1.5 billion for United Utilities, £128 million for South West Water, £99 million for Northumbrian Water, £94 million for Severn Trent, £81 million for Yorkshire Water, £80 million for Anglian Water, £70 million for South Staffs Water, £64 million for Portsmouth Water, £35 million for Southern Water, £21 million for Affinity Water, and £3 million for Bristol Water.
