EPPING FOREST: Water bills set to rise

11:43am Wednesday 27th August 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

WATER bills for part of the district are likely to increase by three per cent a year above the rate of inflation in the next five years, adding more pressure on credit-crunch hit household budgets.

Details of the price hike were revealed when Thames Water submitted its draft business plan - which includes how much it expects customers to pay - to regulator Owfat.

Thames Water expects to raise bills by about three per cent, excluding annual inflation, each year between 2010 and 2015.

The company said the increases would help pay for a planned £6.5 billion investment in water and sewerage services, and that the proposals follow a public consultation into customers' priorities and concerns.

Thames Water customers currently pay £280 a year on average for their water. The company expects the average bill to increase to £303 in 2010-11, and £329 in 2014-15.

The Water Inspectorate recently revealed that tap water supplied by Thames Water is the best in the country as it passed quality control standards 98.98 per cent of the time.

Three Valleys Water, which also supplies homes in the district, has not yet submitted its business plan, an Ofwat spokesman said.