Ofwat delivers flat bills for customers
Dec 14, 2009
Average bill in England and Wales remain flat by 2015. Average bill about £34 lower than companies' proposals. Largest ever investment in the sector of more than £22 billion over the next five years.
The average bill across England and Wales will decrease by £3 to £340 by 2015.1 This is before inflation is considered.
Compared to what companies asked for, Ofwat's challenge sees average bills about £34 (10 per cent) lower by 2015.
Regina Finn, Ofwat Chief Executive Officer said:
"People can shop around for the best deal on many things, but not water. Our job is to do this for them. Customers have told us that they want us to keep water and sewage charges flat while maintaining a safe, reliable supply of water. That’s what we’ve delivered. There's more to this than just low bills, it's about what customers get for their money. We’ve scrutinised every pound in the companies’ plans to make sure they deliver what customers want. At a fair price. We're allowing companies to invest more than ever before, £22 billion. We’re making sure it’s invested in the right place, at the right time, for the right price. Everyone will see real benefits from these proposals. "It doesn’t end here. We will now make sure the companies deliver on their promises. If they don’t we’ll take action to protect customers."
Ofwat's decision will see more than £935 invested for every property across England and Wales by 2015.
This investment will allow companies to ensure customers continue to see improvements and receive a safe, reliable supply of drinking water. Key benefits of the investment will include:
Safe, reliable supplies
- Improve 140 water treatment works and 550 sewage treatment works to maintain and improve the environment and drinking water quality
- Over 10,000 km of water mains being improved or replaced – more than the equivalent of London to Cape Town
- More than £1billion will be spent on maintaining and improving drinking water quality
- Investment in cleaning the mains pipe supplies serving more than 1 million people in reducing discoloured water.
Protecting Customers
- Extreme events such as flooding can severely disrupt water supplies. Almost 10 million people will benefit from investment to guard against them being without water.
- Addressing sewer flooding problems for more than 6,300 properties.
Environment
- Maintain or improve more than 3,000km of rivers to meet EU environmental standards.
- Improve water quality in more than 55 wetlands and bathing waters.
- More than 100 schemes to work with farmers and landowners. This will help control pollution and reduce costs by better use of land, preventing pollution of drinking water sources requiring costly treatment
Saving water and using energy wisely
- By 2015, the water savings that companies will make by meeting water efficiency targets, reducing leakage, and increasing metering will amount to more than 100 billion litres per year. That is enough water to supply the cities of Liverpool, Bristol and Brighton for more than a year.
- Over the next five years, companies are investing in renewable energy sources generating enough extra electricity to power around 90,000 homes. That’s more than enough electricity for all the homes in Portsmouth. This will both help reduce carbon emissions and keep water bills down.
Where is the money going?
- £12.9 billion to maintain and replace the assets, from pipes to treatment works - If laid end to end the 330,000 km of pipes would stretch round the earth almost 14 times.
- £4.6 billion to improve drinking water and the environment
- £2.7 billion to make sure there is enough water, and capacity to treat sewage into the future
- £1.1 billion to improve service levels to customers, like reducing pressure problems and sewer flooding
- £0.9 billion to deliver big projects such as large sewers
Media Contact:
Ofwat
Centre City Tower
7 Hill Street
Birmingham B5 4UA (UK)
Benedict Fisher
PH.: +44 (0)121 625 1442
E-Mail: pressofficeteam@ofwat.gsi.gov.uk
Internet: www.ofwat.gov.uk
More News and Articles
Apr 24, 2024
News
Sustainable drainage solutions: German Start-up transforms urban water management.
Germany boasts a well-established infrastructure for managing rainwater and wastewater, yet many developing countries lack such systems. Addressing this gap, …
Apr 22, 2024
News
HDD tooling that gets the job done
Horizontal directional drilling is a dynamic process that constantly changes and adapts to suit a range of applications across utilities and infrastructure. Operators looking to get the most from their equipment …
Apr 19, 2024
News
WATCH: Overnight with SAERTEX-LINER H20 in São Paulo
Available through Pipe Core, high-quality liner SAERTEX-LINER H20 performed under pressure in São Paulo, Brazil.
Maintaining aging potable water pipe infrastructure is a constant challenge …
Apr 17, 2024
News
Immersive media provides wastewater experience in Denmark
An immersive media experience (IMX) may not be what most people want when they think about industrial wastewater, but that is exactly what visitors can expect when they visit a new installation …
Apr 15, 2024
News
Spotlight on gender diversity at Pipe Core
Since founding in 2008, Pipe Core’s team has grown across all areas of the business and is now in a position where there are more females than males across the organisation. Research published in Harvard …
Apr 12, 2024
News
New Wave of Startups Scale Innovation to Solve Global Water Challenges
Innovators from Around the World Join Xylem’s 2024 Accelerator Program to Deploy Breakthrough Innovations for Utilities and Industrial Users of Water
A new group of startups …
Apr 08, 2024
News
Integrated sustainable electricity and clean drinking water systems
Altitude Water and New Use Energy Solutions have partnered to create integrated, mobile solar-plus-water generation systems that produce sustainable electricity and clean drinking …
Apr 05, 2024
News
How to Evaluate Hydraulic Fracture Risk in HDD Design
The design of horizontal directional drill (HDD) installations often requires an evaluation of the potential for hydraulic fracture of the soil layers through which an HDD passes. Evaluating …
Apr 02, 2024
News
Historic Project Linking Rome and Vatican City Uses Advanced Technology and Local Knowledge to Keep Water Flowing
Relocation of Major Sewer Infrastructure Enables Construction of Pedestrian Link for 35 Million Visitors to the 2025 Jubilee
Water …
Mar 27, 2024
News
USU Study Looks at Water Main Break Rates in the U.S. and Canada
Report Highlights Correlation Between Material and Diameter
Utah State University (USU) has published new research on water main breaks in the United States and Canada, examining …
Mar 26, 2024
News
Update BE-21: New Material in Course and Modules on Trenchless Pipe Installation
Online training on the topic of pipeline installation in civil engineering: Trenchless technology for underground drainage construction can be a resource-efficient, …
Mar 25, 2024
Article
Bacteria as a new weapon in wastewater treatment
In early November, San Diego based startup Aquacycl officially opened its first European office and test center at the Water Campus in Leeuwarden. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) …