A new report by the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) launched to better understand affordability pressures across regulated sectors has found that water bills are more affordable for households than energy and telecoms.
Issues considered in the report, which focuses on the energy, communications and water sectors, include:
- How affordability issues are approached in different regulated sectors.
- What data gathered from regulators and other sources show about the nature of affordability issues in these sectors.
- The drivers of affordability issues and the role of regulators in addressing these issues.
Water UK, the body that represents all the UK water companies, said the new report has confirmed that water bills are cheaper and more affordable for households than energy and phone/internet bills.
On average, in energy and communications household spend is at 5% and 4% of total household spend, respectively. In water, 1.4% of household income is going towards paying for this service.
UKRN also concluded that water and sewerage bulls have stayed broadly flat over the past 15 years - in 2011 water bills made up 1.4% of household expenditure which was unchanged since 2002-03.
Water UK said that while bills may be lower than other household bills the water companies are aware that there are many struggling households that need extra support. Water UK pointed out that the companies spend millions of pounds every year to give these households money off their water bills, as well as offering a range of extra support and advice measures. In the next five years, companies are proposing to increase their funding and support through these measures, which include more social tariffs.
Under Ofwat's final determinations, water bills will go down by 5% in real terms in the next five years.
UKRN will now begin work on a second phase report by which will examine the factors which are likely to affect bills over the next ten years. UKRN has said it will subsequently consider aligning approaches to vulnerability across sectors.
Members of the UKRN include the Civil Aviation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Services Regulator, Office of Communications, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets Ofwat, the Office of Rail Regulation and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation. Monitor, the sector regulator for health, participates in the network , while the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and Legal Services are contributing members which generally participate in projects as observers.
Click here to download the report
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