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30
Jan
Yorkshire Water announces household bills to rise by £135 this year
Yorkshire Water has announced an increase in average customer bills of £135 this year to pay for improved infrastructure.
The increase of almost 29% on annual bills equates to an extra £11 pound a month.
The company said the rise is part of a of an £8.3 billion spend in the next five years to upgrade infrastructure. The increase was approved by the water regulator, Ofwat, in December last year.
Nicola Shaw, Yorkshire Water CEO, said the investment would boost Yorkshire’s economy:
This is our largest ever environmental investment and will lead to a step change in service and the resilience of our infrastructure above and below ground.
Our plans are backed by our customers, who want to see a focus on environmental improvements, and a major aim throughout our planning process has been to deliver the high levels of investment customers want, while keeping bills as affordable as possible.
Despite Ms Shaw's words many customers are likely to be angry at the increase.
The proposed rise was heavily criticised by the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Tom Gordon, when it was approved by Ofwat in December.
Mr Gordon called for the regulator to be scrapped and said at the time:
This is insulting and a kick in the teeth for customers in Harrogate and Knaresborough and across Yorkshire who are already enduring a cost-of-living crisis.
It’s outrageous that Yorkshire Water’s customers, including my constituents, are being told they must pay more when they aren’t even receiving the service they are paying for.
Yorkshire Water said all customers will be contacted directly with the exact details of their bill through the normal billing cycle which begins in February.
Ms Shaw said there would be support for people who struggled with the rise:
Of course, we’re aware some in our region are struggling financially, so as part of our plans for the next five years we’re increasing the support available to those households.
We would encourage anyone who is struggling financially to contact our teams to discuss the options available to them.
Over the next five years, 535,000 households will be helped by all types of financial support offered by Yorkshire Water, which will amount to £375m of bill help and debt support for customers, up from £115m between 2020 and 2025.
345,000 customers will be provided with water bill support via the two bill reduction tariffs and three debt support schemes offered, up from 245,000 customers in the previous five-year period.
The company has given some examples of work it plans to do this year:
- Replacement of more than 200km of water mains
- More than 150,000 smart meter exchanges across the region
- Over £250m investment to reduce storm overflows across the region and continuously monitor the quality of our rivers
- £67m to continue our work to reduce Phosphorus entering watercourses at 45 wastewater treatment works, of which 13 will be completed in the first year.
- £23m on improved monitoring of the wastewater network
Do you have a view on Yorkshire Water's plans and the price rise? Get in touch with us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk
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