The regions that water companies serve vary substantially according to their environment, availability of water and whether people live in cities, towns or the countryside. This means that costs – and therefore bills – will vary from company to company. Over time, customers’ priorities also vary across the country, which will affect companies’ future plans and the revenue they need to deliver these plans.
We recognise that our bills are higher than the industry average, particularly for providing water. This is due to the largely rural area we serve – we have more pipes per customer to maintain than other water companies, and the cost of moving water across our region is relatively high. This means that the average bill per household needs to be higher than other companies to maintain our services.
The amount that we can collect from customers through bills is ultimately set by Ofwat, the industry regulator. In determining how much companies need to collect from customers, Ofwat takes into account companies’ plans and their different circumstances. Ofwat has approved our bills for the forthcoming year, from April 2024, and is currently in the process of setting allowances for the next five-year period (2025-2030).
Find out more about how our charges are set.