News / News Wire
Water bills in Bristol to fall over 5 years
Water bills in Bristol will fall in real terms over the next five years, Wessex Water has announced today.
The average household bill for customers will fall by £39 and will not increase above inflation for the next five years.
At the same time, the company said it will invest more than £2billion in infrastructure projects.
Chief executive Colin Skellett said: “Our multi-million pound investment programme is based on the views of our customers, delivering improvements in infrastructure, resilience and higher standards of customer service. At the same time, by reducing returns to shareholders and further improving our efficiency, we have been able to lower customers’ bills in real terms.”
Among some of the major projects outlined by the company are a major relief sewer – costing around £25m – in South Gloucestershire between Iron Acton and Bradley Stoke to provide additional capacity for the planned development in the north of Bristol
The news is part of a national announcement from the water regulator Ofwat, who today said average bills for customers in England and Wales would fall by around fiver per cent, before adjustments for inflation, between 2015 and 2020. This would see average bills fall by about £20 from £396 to £376.
Jonson Cox, chairman of Ofwat said: “This is an important step in maintaining customers’ trust and confidence in the water sector. We set out to deliver a challenging but fair outcome. We are requiring companies to meet higher service standards and deliver on their promises to customers.
“We are bringing down bills so customers can expect value for money, while investors can earn a fair return. Companies will need to stretch themselves to deliver much more with the same level of funding as in previous years. We will achieve more resilient infrastructure and better service as a result.”
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
