Millions of households in England and Wales face higher bills after five water companies were given the green light to spend £3.4bn more than planned. The rises will come on top of the already announced 36 per cent hikes over the second half of the decade.
Ofwat approves additional spending
On Thursday, the water industry regulator, Ofwat, said 13 companies had requested to spend £4.3bn on top of what had been agreed. Five – Southern Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent, Wessex Water and South East Water – will be allowed.
Helen Campbell, the executive director for delivery at Ofwat, said allowing the water companies to spend more would allow them to deliver “without delay”.
Funding for housing and water quality
“The newly agreed funding will help unlock much-needed new housing development and boost business growth across a range of sectors, as well as improving drinking water quality and the removal of Pfas and forever chemicals,” Ms Campbell said.
Campbell added that the regulator would track the performance of the water companies to make sure they are “delivering the expected improvements for customers and the environment”. “If they don’t, expenditure can be clawed back,” she said, in a statement on Thursday (August 13) after the decision from the water regulator was announced to the public.
Government response
And Labour Party minister Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, said: “I know that households across the country are watching every pound and I share their frustration that years of underinvestment and toothless regulation has led to this.
“We have already ringfenced money earmarked for new infrastructure so it can only be spent on fixing the problems, and will go further by fundamentally reforming the water sector so that it works for the public; keeping bills as low as they can be, and delivering higher standards, better performance and cleaner waterways.”
It follows a three-month review by Ofwat.
