UK water bills to rise as regulator green lights £3.4bil in extra spending
Britain's water industry already faces an overhaul due to rising customer bills, environmental breaches, soaring debt and high dividends.
The UK regulator Ofwat has provisionally approved £3.4 billion in additional spending for five water companies, allowing them to raise customer bills between 2027 and 2030. This decision comes after Britain's largest utility, Thames Water, and other struggling companies faced intense scrutiny over environmental breaches, high debt levels, and rising bills.
Ofwat's statement highlighted that the funding would help remove "forever chemicals" from water supplies, improve drinking water quality, support housebuilding, and enable data centre development. Southern Water, with over 4 million customers, will see the largest bill increase, with an average rise of £43 for 2027-28 and £37 for 2029-2030.
Thames Water, which is struggling to avoid collapse, will increase its bills by £3 for 2027-28 and £5 for 2029-2030. Ofwat executives emphasized that performance will be monitored, and if companies fail to meet expectations, funding can be clawed back.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- UK water bills to rise as regulator green lights £3.4bil in extra spending freemalaysiatoday.com
