Most households to see reduced water bills after Welsh Water penalised

WELSH Water has said most household bills are set to fall this year.

According to the not-for-profit water company, the typical combined water and wastewater bill for household customers will fall by around 1% from April.

The company has said the reduction is due to penalties it has been issued for supply interruptions and leakage during previous years. They also added that the decrease in typical household bills also aims to help their customers as the cost-ofliving crisis continues.

Figures reported last August show that Welsh Water has breached regulations more than 200 times in the last six years. Data also show the terrifying amount of raw sewage poured into rivers, lakes and seas around Wales.

Across the UK, other water companies are expecting aboveaverage increases in household bills from April. The average annual water and sewerage bill is expected to rise by 6% in England and Wales, up £27 to £473, says suppliers’ trade body Water UK.

People in Wales already have some of the highest water bills in the UK. last year, Welsh Water’s average household paid £499 in 2023/4 making it the second highest in England and Wales. People in North East Wales who receive water and sewerage from Hafren Dyfrdwy had lower average bills, at around £372 over the last year.

Welsh Water said the typical combined water and wastewater bill for household customers would fall by between 0.1% and 1.3% from April 2024.

Welsh Water’s chief financial officer Mike Davis said: “While we are set to reduce our bills, we know that customers are still finding things difficult as many continue to contact us to ask for the help that is available.

“We still have capacity to help thousands more – and this is partly because our not for shareholder business model means we don’t pay dividends to shareholders and so are able to use this money to help those who genuinely struggle to pay.

“As ever, our advice to anyone worried about their bill is to get in contact with us straight away. We have a trained and friendly team on hand who after asking just a few questions will be able to match you to the help that best meets your needs”.

According to Welsh Water, it has so far supported around 145,000 customers who are struggling to pay their bills through a range of affordability tariffs and funds.

Last October, the company announced that as part of its 2025-2030 business plan, it intended to contribute £13million a year to maintain its social tariffs schemes and provide capacity to increase the number of customers it supported to 190,000.