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CCW says millions of households now face an anxious wait to see whether they could face even steeper water bill rises after six companies choose to contest Ofwat’s price caps for the next five years.
Northumbrian Water, Anglian Water, Wessex Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and South East Water have all asked for their final determinations from Ofwat to be referred to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Ofwat announced its final price limits on how much water companies in England and Wales can charge customers from 2025 to 2030 back in December. The average bill increase set by the regulator was 36% – around £157 – over the next five years to help fund a £104bn package of investment in improving services.
Chris Walters, Senior Director for the Price Review at Ofwat, said “As part of the standard process underpinning our Price Reviews, it is the right of companies to request a redetermination by the CMA. We will be re-stating our case as part of this process.
“Our PR24 final determinations unlock a quadrupling of investment by the sector. This will accelerate the delivery of work to deliver cleaner rivers and seas – as well as securing long-term drinking water supplies for customers.
“Final determinations were based on a robust examination of all funding requests made by companies to ensure every pound of customer bills provides value for money, delivers real improvements and enables the sector to attract the investment it needs.”
Companies had until Tuesday (18 February) to ask for their final determination to be referred to the CMA for appeal if they disagreed with Ofwat’s decision.
Steve Hobbs, Senior Policy Lead for Regulation at the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said “The customers of these six water companies now face a long and anxious wait to see whether they could be hit with even steeper bill rises at a time when at least 2 in 5 households say they will struggle to afford the existing increases.
“Three of the six water companies which have appealed have no plans to end water poverty by 2030, which means thousands of their customers still face being unable to afford their bill – whether these appeals are successful or not. It’s not fair or acceptable that so many customers should be left to worry about whether they will be able to afford something as essential as water. CCW will do everything it can to ensure people’s views and concerns are heard and taken seriously by the CMA.”