03 Sep 2018
Water bill reduction in pipeline for North West householders
United Utilities has today announced that it plans to cut water bills by 10.5 per cent in real terms by 2025, which follows unprecedented levels of engagement with customers across the North West.
The water company has today submitted its proposals to the sector’s economic regulator Ofwat, outlining how it aims to provide better water and wastewater services at a lower cost over the coming five-year period.
If the plans are accepted, bills would fall by £45 in real terms by 2025, which will support 250,000 customers moving out of water poverty.
The plan includes a drive to reduce water leakage by 15 per cent and improve the resilience of water supplies, along with improving the quality of rivers in the region.
Louise Beardmore, Customer Services Director at United Utilities, said: “We have drawn up our proposals after asking the views of a record number of customers and stakeholders – more than 140,000 customers took part in the engagement process and our consultation campaign reached 1.7m people across the North West.
“We’ve listened to their feedback and we’ve shaped our plan to deliver more for less. Affordability is a hugely important issue for many people in our region and if our plans are approved we will be able to provide additional financial support for 150,000 customers and move a quarter of a million people out of water poverty.
“And from 2020 we are planning to launch a new commitment called CommUnity Share, which means that if our dividends are much higher than expected, we will share the benefit with customers and communities across the North West through a ‘CommUnity Dividend’ – delivering further bill reductions, more financial assistance for customers or community grants.
“This is in addition to our existing approach to benefit sharing with customers which has seen over half a billion pounds reinvested for customer benefit over the past decade.
“We believe our business plan strikes the right balance of affordable prices, better services and shared rewards if we outperform our ambitious proposals.”