Ofwat proposes £240million water bill cuts for poor performance

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 12:02 · Archive

Ofwat has proposed £240million in bill reductions by 2030 as penalties for water companies failing to meet environmental and customer service targets.

Ofwat has proposed penalties that could see £240million returned to households and businesses through lower water bills by 2030. The reductions are designed to hold water companies to account for their performance against agreed targets, with penalties for falling short and rewards for outperforming expectations.

Customers would see a net £240million reduction in bills by the 2029-30 financial year, with £107million due to be returned through bills in 2027-28. Yorkshire Water and Thames Water are set to see the largest amounts taken off bills, with Yorkshire Water customers benefiting from £75million in underperformance payments and Thames Water customers from £46million. However, some water companies are set to receive outperformance payments for meeting or exceeding their targets, with Severn Trent and Northumbrian Water seeing the largest amounts.

The catch for households is that the proposed reductions are likely to be offset by separate plans allowing water companies to increase bills by an extra £3.4billion, on top of an average 36% rise already agreed over the five years to 2030. Ofwat said the impact on customers would depend on their supplier and circumstances. The proposals are not yet final, with Ofwat due to make its final decision on the outcome delivery incentive payments by December 15, with any changes taking effect from April 1 next year.

How it is being reported

• Water bills set to fall by £240million next year – but households face a catchOfwat has proposed £240million in water bill reductions by 2030 for poor company performanceMalvern Gazette · 14 Oct, 11:41
• Water bills set to fall by £240million next year – but households face a catchOfwat has proposed £240million in water bill reductions by 2030 for poor company performanceWorcester News · 14 Oct, 11:41

In this story: Ofwat · Yorkshire Water · Thames Water · Severn Trent · Northumbrian Water

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