Water bills to fall 5% by 2020

Regulator Ofwat confirms price controls for households in England and Wales.

The average water and sewerage bill in England and Wales will fall by 5% in real terms over the next five years says the water regulator Ofwat.

It today confirmed price controls for the period 2015-2020.

The reduction will see bills fall around £20 from an average of £396 in 2014/15 to £376 by 2019/20.

However, water and wastewater companies will still be permitted to add inflation to bills each year which means charges are still likely to rise.

Ofwat said while bills would drop, services would improve.

Water and sewerage companies will invest more than £44 billion in infrastructure over the next five years, which equates to around £2,000 for every household in England and Wales. Meanwhile the number of people benefitting from financial support will more than double to 1.8 million by 2020.

Cathryn Ross, Ofwat Chief Executive, said "with bills held down by 5% and service driven up over the next five years, customers will get more and pay less."

The regulator considered proposals from 18 water and wastewater companies on costs for services and supply over the next five years.

Companies have two months to accept Ofwat's decision, or seek a referral to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The new charges will come into effect in April 2015.

How bills will change

The tables below show how average household bills are predicted to change by 2020 for companies offering water-only, as well as water and sewage services.

Please note that there is some rounding to the figures.

Water and sewerage companies

	2014-15	2019-20	Five-year change
Anglian	£431	£390	-10%
Dŵr Cymru	£440	£416	-5%
Northumbrian (including Essex & Suffolk)	£388	£382	-1%
Severn Trent	£333	£316	-5%
Southern	£437	£403	-8%
South West*	£545	£506	-7%
Thames**	£370	£353	-5%
United Utilities	£410	£398	-3%
Wessex	£485	£442	-9%
Yorkshire	£373	£361	-3%

*South West Water customers benefit from a Government contribution which reduces their bills by £50 per year.

**Thames Water’s figures includes the costs for the preparatory works to build the Thames Tideway Tunnel – a 25km sewer to deal with the problem of too much sewage overflowing into the River Thames.

Anglian customers will see the greatest percentage drop in yearly water and sewerage bills, down 10% to an average of £390 by 2019/20.

While water and sewerage customers in Northumbria will see the smallest change in their bills, dropping 1% to £382.

Severn Trent customers will have the cheapest annual water and sewerage bills by 2020, at £316.

Water-only companies

	2014-15	2019-20	Five-year change
Affinity	£176	£163	-7%
Bristol	£202	£160	-21%
Dee Valley	£152	£149	-2%
Portsmouth	£97	£96	-1%
SembCorp Bournemouth	£153	£134	-12%
South East	£201	£194	-3%
South Staffs (including Cambridge)	£141	£135	-4%
Sutton and East Surrey	£186	£180	-3%

Water-only customers in Bristol will see the biggest percentage drop in their annual bill, down 21% from an average of £202 in 2014/15 to £160 by 2019/20.

Portsmouth water-only customers will see the smallest change with bills falling 1% by 2019/20, however households in this area will still pay the cheapest annual bill at £96.

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