MILLIONS of water customers will see their bills rise 36% by 2030, the regulator has confirmed.
Average water bills currently stand at £448 but will increase to £484 next Spring.
The biggest rise is by XX, which would see bills for its customers in XXX rise by XX% (£XXX) between now and 2030.
Ofwat warned in July that bills would increase by an average of £19 a year between 2025 and 2030.
The regulator said this rise was a third less than the increase requested by water companies, which had proposed an average increase of £144 over the next five years.
Today’s hikes come as part of Ofwat’s 2024 Price Review (PR24) which covers the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2030.
It sets limits on what companies can charge their customers for water to cover the cost of repairs to the network.
Proposals for what these rises could look like were published earlier this year and the final plans have been confirmed this morning.
It comes as water companies face criticism over record levels of sewage discharged into rivers and seas despite huge profits.
At the beginning of October, water companies were ordered to return £157.6million to customers after failing to meet pollution targets.
Each year, Ofwat evaluates the performance of England and Wales‘ 17 largest water and wastewater companies against key targets, including sewer flooding, supply interruptions, and water leaks.
For the second consecutive year, no company attained the highest rating, although four companies demonstrated improvement compared to the previous year.
As a result, millions of customers at 13 water companies will see their bills slashed next year as the watchdog issues fresh penalties.
The penalties for each water firm are as follows:
The regulator said that the exact amount that will be returned to customers will be finalised on December 19 and applied to bills from April 2025.
Water companies were set stretching targets for 2020-25 to deliver better outcomes, for both customers and the environment.
Where they fall short on these, the regulator imposes performance penalties resulting in customers being charged less than they would be the following billing year.
Performance penalties have totalled more than £430million since 2020.
Last year, Ofwat forced through bill reductions worth £177.6million.
On Thursday (December 19), Ofwat will confirm how much water companies are allowed to hike bills over the next five years.
In October, water companies requested increases of 40%, adding an extra £176 to a typical household’s costs and bringing the total to £615 per year.
The regulator said at the time: “We will consider this additional expenditure request as part of our final determinations.”
COMPENSATION for several common problems will see substantial increases:
it’s always worth checking if you qualify for a discount or extra support to help pay your water bill.
Over two million households who qualify to be on discounted social water tariffs aren’t claiming the savings provided, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
Only 1.3million households are currently issued with a social water tariff – up 19% from the previous year.
And the average household qualifying for the discounted water rates can slash their bills by £160 a year.
Every water company has a social tariff scheme which can help reduce your bills if you’re on a low income and the CCW is calling on customers to take advantage before bills rise in April.
Who’s eligible for help and the level of support offered varies depending on your water company.
Most suppliers also have a pot of money to dish out to thousands of customers who are under pressure from rising costs – and you don’t have to pay it back.
These grants can be worth hundreds of pounds offering a vital lifeline when faced with daunting water bills.
The exact amount you can get depends on where you live and your supplier, as well as your individual circumstances.
Many billpayers across the country could also get help paying off water debts through a little-known scheme and even get the balance written off.
Companies match the payments eligible customers make against the debt on their account to help clear it sooner.
If you’re on a water meter but find it hard to save water as you have a large family or water-dependent medical condition, you may be able to cap your bills through the WaterSure scheme.
Bills are capped at the average amount for your supplier, so the amount you could save will vary.
The Consumer Council for Water estimates that bills are reduced by £307 on average through the scheme.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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RONNIE O’SULLIVAN has not enjoyed playing snooker this much since he was 14.
And the 49-year-old insists he is not thinking about hanging up his cue.
O’Sullivan remains the sport’s biggest attraction but has not been wielding the same power or influence recently — with eight defeats in 21 matches this season.
His last two outings saw him collapse from winnable positions.
This calendar year, he has won only one ranking tournament — the World Grand Prix — with Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson emerging as the dominant potters.
Yet when it was put to the Rocket that fans might be seeing him on a slow slide to retirement, he claimed his excitement for the game was still there.
O’Sullivan said: “I wouldn’t say it’s the end. I’m definitely going to keep playing.
“The last time I enjoyed playing snooker like I have done the last couple of months was when I was 14.
“I won’t go into details but I’m loving playing. It’s quite weird.
“I played awful last year and pretty terrible at the start of the year. I won five tournaments last year, a couple of semis but did not enjoy playing. I was done, mate. I just couldn’t face playing.
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“I was getting stage fright, I was jabby through the ball, stabbing at shots. Then I took a couple of months off, figured out a couple of things and really enjoyed it.
“The last three tournaments I’ve played pretty well. Maybe just a little bit too open. It’s just winning some of them safety battles.
“You’ve got to make your opponents work for it and I haven’t been doing that.
“I never panic, I never worry. I’m not really bothered either. If I was bothered I might be worried.
“I know I’m on the back-end of my career so it’s less important now.”
O’Sullivan appears tonight in the last eight of the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.
It is the return of the 20-point Gold Ball and the prospect of compiling a 167 — which this time carries a $1million (£790,000) bonus.
Saudi bosses have paid a lot of money to set up an academy in the desert city in O’Sullivan’s name but there is little chance a similar venue will be established in the UK for British talent.
O’Sullivan laughed: “If you have to fund it yourself it’s not easy.
“You’ve got rent, tables, staff… on snooker player’s prize money, I’d end up skint!”
BRITISH rapper Yung Filly has pleaded guilty to reckless driving while on bail over serious rape allegations.
The 29-year-old YouTube star was caught driving at almost 37mph over the speed limit on a Perth highway last month.
Filly, whose real name is Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos is still yet to enter a plea over a string of sexual assault charges he is facing.
He was picked up by a speed camera on a Perth highway in November going over 100mph.
The car he was using has since been impounded.
Court documents have revealed the moments leading up to the crimes police claim Filly committed.
The alleged victim, a university student, was with a friend in the VIP section of the Perth show Filly was performing.
She was said to have been drinking throughout the night until the early hours of the following day.
Once Filly had stopped performing and the club started to close the young woman is believed to have met up with the social media star.
The woman phoned her friend at around 5.31am – which detectives believe was immediately after the alleged assault, according to the documents.
Seamus Rafferty, Yung Filly’s lawyer, claims the woman didn’t mention any form of sexual misconduct in the short conversation to the pal.
WA Police Prosecutor Julius Depetro says despite the video, figuring out “what happened within that room will be the issue”.
He also claims prosecutors have photographs of the alleged victim which show a “history of what we say is violent acts”.
Police arrested the rapper in Brisbane, on Australia’s east coast, and flew him six hours back across the Outback to Perth.
Footage showed Filly being escorted through Perth airport with his hands cuffed in front of him while flanked by two officials.
Further footage shows the influencer – who landed his own BBC show called Hot Property in 2019 – being placed in the back of a car.
The internet star was rapidly dropped by several brands and companies following the allegations.
FootAsylum, the Football Association (FA), Heinz and ASOS are among the biggest names to part ways with the internet personality.
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