Water companies urged to use profits to cut bills for struggling households | Personal Finance | Finance

More water companies are being urged to use profits to help bolster support for struggling households.

The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has called for action from water companies on the same day Water UK confirmed the average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales will rise by around £27 to £473 from April 1.

This marks a six percent average increase but regional variations and other individual factors – such as whether a customer is metered and how much water they use – means some households could face rises significantly above or below the average.

Hafren Dyfrdwy customers are due to have the highest increase with prices soaring by 19 percent. Average bills here are set to rise from £362 in 2023/2024 to £433 in 2024/2025, a difference of £71.

More than two million customers are currently receiving some form of support from companies with paying their water bills.

This includes over 1.3 million low-income households in England and Wales receiving cheaper bills through companies’ social tariff schemes.

These schemes helped reduce bills for eligible customers by an average of £151 last year. However, an even greater number of customers in need of help are “slipping through the net”.

CCW has attributed this to factors such as low awareness of the schemes and variations in eligibility criteria.

Five water companies are currently using some of their profits to help fund social tariffs, which rely heavily on customer cross-subsidies.

However, CCW wants the rest of the industry to join Welsh Water, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water, SES Water and United Utilities in putting their hand in their pockets.

Mike Keil, Chief Executive of CCW, said: “Almost a fifth of households say they struggle to pay their water bill and these rises will heap even greater pressure on low-income customers.

“If water companies are serious about rebuilding trust in the sector they should use some of their profits to help people who cannot afford another bill rise.”

Mr Keil added: “The water industry made a commitment five years ago to end water poverty in England and Wales and it needs to keep that promise.

“Crisis-hit households need immediate relief and the long-term security of knowing they can afford something as essential as water, without having to make painful sacrifices.”

CCW has also shared a few steps households can take to reduce the impact of rising water bills and access support if they are struggling to pay.

For example, trialling a water meter. According to CCW, around 40 percent of households in England and Wales don’t have a meter and some could benefit from switching.

It should be noted that not everyone will save with a meter, but water companies usually give households two years to trial one and switch back if they’re unhappy (unless a person lives in a region where metering is compulsory).

The CCW has a water meter calculator that can help people work out if they might save.

People can also check if they’re eligible for a cut-price social tariff. All water companies offer cheaper tariffs to low-income customers and the service customers receive while on these tariffs remains the same.

Eligibility and the level of support varies by company but the average annual saving in 2022/23 was around £151. CCW has a guide to social tariffs on its Help with Bills online hub.

Finally, households are urged to use CCW’s Benefits Calculator to see if they can boost their income.

CCW’s website features a calculator provided by charity Turn2Us which can help people work out whether they could be missing out on means-tested benefits. Last year almost 6,400 people used the Benefits Calculator and identified they may be eligible for annual benefits totalling more than £50million.