Find out why water bills are increasing, how much they could go up and how we can help if you're struggling to pay.
We are investing more than ever in our services. To help us deliver improvements, our charges increased as of 1 April 2024.
We are currently going through the process to set next year’s charges. Based on current information, we expect that charges will increase again from 1 April 2025, however, we don’t yet know exactly how much they will change.
We know that price rises are always unwelcome, so we can help with your water bill if you are struggling to pay.
Over the next five years, we are seeking to deliver a massively ambitious set of outcomes. Our plan for 2025-2030, currently being reviewed by the regulator Ofwat, proposes a record £3.65 billion of new investment across our water and sewerage networks. This is more than double what we have invested over the last five years, and includes:
This new investment will create an additional 700 jobs at Wessex Water, with thousands more in the supply chain.
Much of this investment is required to meet new standards and obligations that are coming into force, as well as more stretching targets that regulators are setting for the water industry from 2025 onwards. It also reflects customers’ and stakeholders’ views about what improvements should be prioritised.
Delivering these improvements will affect customers’ bills. But our plan does not include any investment that has already been funded, and we are not asking customers to pay twice.
Ofwat is currently reviewing our 2025-2030 plan and the proposed investment programme contained within it. As this will affect how much we can collect from customers through charges, we don’t yet know exactly how much bills will change from April 2025.
In July this year, Ofwat published a draft decision as to what water companies can collect through bills. Based on this, and our forecast of inflation, a two-person household with a water meter would see an increase of around £4 a month next year, or around £5 a month for those not on a meter.
These figures apply to customers who receive both water and sewerage services from us. They may vary slightly for customers who receive one service from us and another service from a different water company.
However, we are concerned that Ofwat’s draft decision does not allow sufficient funding to deliver the step change in services that is needed from 2025 onwards. We believe our full investment programme is necessary to meet all obligations set by regulators, as well as delivering wider improvements that customers expect. We have expressed this to Ofwat and, if our full plans are approved, this would result in a larger increase in bills for 2025-26. But taking inflation into account, bills will still be lower by 2030 than in 2010.
We expect to confirm next year’s bills at the start of February 2025, once Ofwat issues its final decisions for 2025-2030.
We understand for some households an increase in your water bill could be hard to afford. If you are struggling, please don’t worry, we can help you with your bill.
You might also find you could make savings on your bill by having a meter fitted.
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