Southern Water’s new Business Plan for the AMP6 period will cost £3 billion to deliver, it has announced, while customer bills will go up by no more than inflation.
The company’s plan for 2015-20, now published for consultation, is based on the findings from the biggest programme of customer research in Southern Water’s history and sets out a range of promises for the years ahead.
These include higher quality customer service, with 90 per cent of queries resolved the first time customers get in touch. A further commitment is to deliver a 25 per cent reduction in sewer flooding inside homes and businesses, along with an increase in the number of beaches with excellent bathing water quality.
It also sets the target to reduce leakage by 1.9million litres a day by 2020 as well as reducing the amount of water taken from the environment by 1 per cent.
Southern Water Director of Strategy and Regulation, Simon Oates, said:
“We have talked in detail to thousands of people over the past 16 months to identify what matters most to our customers. This has enabled us to develop a plan which is focused on meeting their expectations and delivering the improvements they want in the coming five years.
“Importantly, we are proposing to do this with bills going up by no more than the rate of inflation – in line with the price of most everyday goods and services - but no further. We have worked hard to build a plan around our customers, while at the same time keeping bills affordable and dealing with challenges such as a growing population.”
Mr Oates continued:
“Our customers have identified six priorities and for each of them we are making clear promises about what we will achieve and what it will cost. We would now like to hear what people think of our plan and look forward to receiving everyone’s feedback.”
The six priorities set out in Southern Water’s five-year Business Plan for 2015-20 are:
- Responsive customer service
- A constant supply of high quality drinking water
- Removing wastewater effectively
- Looking after the environment
- Better information and advice
- Affordable bills
The consultation on the plan runs until September 22, 2013. All the comments received will be taken into account as the document is updated and finalised, before being submitted to the water industry regulator, Ofwat, by early December, 2013.
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