The water company covering the North West of England will hike bills by 9 per cent from spring
Water UK has confirmed annual price hikes across England and Wales
United Utilities will hike water prices by nine per cent from April this year, adding around £57 to an average household’s annual bill.
Prices will increase across England and Wales from this spring, with households seeing a rise of 5.4 per cent on average, or an additional £33. Price hikes are decided by individual water companies.
United Utilities is the water company that covers the vast majority of the North West, including Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside, with residents in these areas seeing some of the steepest rises across the country.
The price hikes come as water companies prepare to invest £20 billion over the next year to secure water supplies and end sewage entering rivers and seas, Water UK said. There has been ongoing public anger about the amount of sewage being released into waterways, exacerbated by firms increasing bills to pay for upgrades after decades of underinvestment.
Ofwat has allowed water firms to put up bills by 36 per cent over a period of five years up to 2030, with most of that being front-loaded on to last April’s annual rise.
United Utilities has confirmed a nine per cent hike on last year’s bills, bringing the annual bill for water and wastewater for an average household to £660, an increase of £57 on last year. While that is the largest increase in price, it is not the highest percentage increase.
Affinity Water in the central region of England will hike bills by 13 per cent, while Bristol Water is imposing a 12 per cent rise and customers of Sutton and East Surrey Water will see a hike of 11 per cent.
Water UK chief executive David Henderson said: “We understand increasing bills is never welcome, but the money is needed to fund vital upgrades to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas. While we urgently need investment in our water and sewage infrastructure, we know that for many this increase will be difficult. That is why we will help around 2.5 million households – more than ever before – with average discounts of around 40 per cent off their water bill.”
More than two million households currently receive help with their bills through social tariffs, the WaterSure scheme and other affordability measures. It is expected that an additional 300,000 households will be handed help with water bills over the coming year.
Commenting on this year’s price increase, a spokesperson for United Utilities told the Manchester Evening News: “We’re making great progress on delivering the biggest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure for more than 100 years across the North West. This historic investment will deliver the step change that customers have told us they want to see and allow us to safeguard drinking water supplies, help reduce leakage and sewer flooding and protect and enhance more than 500km of rivers and bathing waters.
“Increasing the level of investment in our region means that bills also need to increase. We do understand that any increase is unwelcome and we are providing more than £500 million in financial support to help customers who may struggle with their payments. If customers are concerned, we would encourage them to contact us or visit our website to see what support is available.”
Ofwat interim chief executive Chris Walters commented: “By April 2027 we are expecting water companies to have installed more than eight million water meters in homes to help customers manage their bills, to have replaced almost 3,000km of piping that will ensure customers experience fewer supply disruptions, and reduce sewage spills from storm overflows by 30 per cent from 2024 levels.
“These are just three examples that will help us reach our collective goal of cleaner rivers and seas, more resilient water supplies and better services for customers and the environment.
“However, we also recognise that these bill increases may be difficult for some people. That is why we approved a doubling of company support available for customers who are struggling to pay and now more than two million households are accessing this help.”