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Millions of households are set to see bigger jumps in their water bills after five firms were given permission provisionally to raise prices by more than previously granted.
The five companies – Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South East Water, Southern Water, and Wessex Water – had argued that the original increases set by water regulator Ofwat left them unable to meet regulatory requirements.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Anglian and Northumbrian should be allowed to increase their bills by a further 1%, Southern by 3%, South East by 4% and Wessex by 5%.
Kirstin Baker, who chaired the independent group of experts appointed by the CMA to consider the price controls, said: “We’ve found that water companies’ requests for significant bill increases, on top of those allowed by Ofwat, are largely unjustified.
“We understand the real pressure on household budgets and have worked to keep increases to a minimum, while still ensuring there is funding to deliver essential improvements at reasonable cost.”
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