CMA appeals: Further water bill rises would not be welcome
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) says allowing five water companies to increase their bills even more than expected would not be welcomed by customers.
CCW has responded to the provisional findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which has been considering the appeals for higher bill rises made by Wessex Water, Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, Anglian Water and South East Water.
The CMA has indicated in its initial findings that it will allow the five companies to increase their customers’ bills from 2025-2030 by an additional 3%, on average, on top of the rises set out by Ofwat back in December 2024.
Responding to the provisional findings, Mike Keil, CCW’s Chief Executive, said:
Many customers are still trying to absorb the impact of April’s unprecedented rise in water bills, so any further increases will be very unwelcome.
CCW’s own analysis suggests there was an opportunity to reduce these five companies’ financing costs, cutting bills by around £41 a year, but instead the CMA has chosen to increase their rate of return. There is a danger the customers of these companies will end up paying more, without seeing any additional improvements in return.
Three of these five companies also have no plans to end water poverty by 2030 and yet their customers are being exposed to bill rises that at least 40 per cent of households say they will struggle to afford.