Millions of households face 37% rise in water bills

Severn Trent boss Liv Garfield promised the increased costs would transform the company's network and lead to fewer leaks. Photo: Typhoon Salchi

​​Millions of Severn Trent customers will see their water bills rise by more than £100 a year after the company launched a £12.9 billion turnaround plan.

The energy giant on Friday confirmed plans to raise bills by 37% by the end of the decade as it looks to raise money to invest in reducing sewage spills and repairing pipes on its network.

Severn Trent's plan would mean 4.2. millions of customers in the Midlands and Wales will have to pay an average of £139 a year extra by the end of the decade.

The announcement is the first in what is likely to be a leap for the industry. accounts.

All 17 water companies in England and Wales have until Monday afternoon to submit their five-year business plans to regulator Ofwat, which is expected to include increased bills to cover the cost of environmental work.

2309 wastewater map < p>Martin Young, a senior analyst at Investec, said: «Severn Trent is probably at the lower end of the range because they started with a cheaper account.»

Documents seen by the Times in the summer showed that some companies water supply planned to raise bills by as much as 56%.

Mr Young said the documents suggested the average bill would rise from £441 to £570. However, these figures do not take inflation into account.

Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said: “Water companies have already said there are likely to be significant bill increases. over the next five years to finance investments that customers want to see in improving services and protecting the environment.»

Annual bills would rise under Severn Trent's proposals, which will be submitted to water regulator Ofwat on Monday. from £379 in 2024-25 to £518 by 2029-30.

The company announced a planned increase to help fund a £12.9 billion investment in its weak infrastructure.< /p>

The water company is investing billions to reduce pollution in the UK's rivers and has set a target to reduce sewage spills by a third by 2030.< /p>

Severn Trent was one of four water companies fined a total of £94 million by the Environment Agency for wastewater discharges between 2018 and 2022.

The company also became the first UK water supplier to who is facing a class action lawsuit over sewage pollution, although she has denied the allegations.

2206 What Causes River Pollution?

As well as increasing its billings, the company on Friday announced plans to raise £1bn from a share sale to fund its plans. It included a £500 million investment from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, which was already one of the company's largest shareholders.

Qatar Investment Authority becomes Severn Trent's second largest shareholder following the investment. The Middle Eastern country first took a £200 million stake in the supplier in 2019.

Severn Trent said that while customers would pay an extra £139 a year, this was roughly in line with the expected increase in household incomes.

Chief executive Liv Garfield said: “By 2030, we will transform our network to provide our customers the very best service.”

“At the heart of these ambitions is a commitment to a sustainable future – from healthier rivers to creating thousands of jobs, reducing leakage and ensuring a water supply ready for the impacts of climate change and population growth.”< /p>

Debt-ridden water companies are struggling with financial pressures mounting over the past year as the cost of cleaning up rivers coincided with rising interest rates.

Earlier this year, concerns over Thames Water's £14 billion debt pounds sterling has prompted emergency talks between the government and Ofwat as they consider nationalizing Britain's biggest supplier.

Severn Trent, which has debts of almost £7 billion, was not involved in the talks.