Southern Water has issued a statement rejecting media reports that it is asking Ofwat to approve a 91% increase in bills between now and 2030.

The statement comes after widespread reports across a number of news organisations set out the following bill increases proposed by the water companies in their AMP Business Plans for 2025 to 2030.

• Affinity Water 25% to £294
• Anglian Water - 29% to £682
• Dŵr Cymru - 43% to £702
• Hafren Dyfredwy - 56% to £676
• Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water - 26% to £530
• Pennon - 33% to £644
• Portsmouth Water - 31% to £157
• SES - 30% to £315
• Severn Trent - 50% to £657
• South East Water - 35% £330
• South Staffs & Cambridge Water - 24% to £221
• Southern Water - 91% to £915 by 2030
• Thames Water - 59% to £749
• United Utilities - 38% to £666
• Wessex Water - 50% to £822
• Yorkshire Water - 46% to £682

All of the news articles suggest that the water companies in England and Wales are proposing that customerbills should increase by between 24% and 91% over the next five years, attributing the information to figures compiled by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).

Southern Water’s statement says it is aware of media reports stating that it is asking Ofwat to approve a 91% increase in bills between now and 2030 and that the company is concerned this “risks creating confusion among our customers and communities about the future direction of bills”

Katy Taylor, Chief Customer Officer, says in the statement:

“The figures being reported are loosely based on the bill rise proposals we put to Ofwat during the development of our draft business plan for 2025–30. Ofwat decides the charges our customers should pay, based on what we’ve proposed to deliver in our plan to meet regulatory requirements.

“While we await confirmation from Ofwat on our plan and the correspondent increase in bills, the numbers quoted have been increased by a third party to take into account estimated inflation levels over the next six years.

“We share everyone’s concerns about rising payments in the face of a cost-of-living crisis. We have been able to keep bills low, with the average combined water and wastewater bill increasing by only £2 in the past 10 years in nominal terms. We agree with our customers that we must now charge more so we can bring our bills in line with inflation, rising costs and, more importantly, so we can invest more to meet the expectations of our customers, and protect and enhance our environment.

“For those that need support, we already provide a 45% bill discount to over 120,00 customers today and estimate that number will rise to around 200,000 by 2030.”