Water bills increase causes further economic stink

The latest crummy economic news has arrived with the announcement that, from April 2012, water and sewerage bills will increase by around 5.7% for households in England and Wales.

The water industry regulator, Ofwat, has said that this represents an additional £20 over the year, meaning bills are likely to rise to a seriously unwelcome £376, although there will be regional variations in price.

Sportingly, Ofwat has told customers that they are still getting value for money. Regina Finn, Chief Executive of Ofwat, said: “We understand that any bill rise is unwelcome, particularly in tough economic times. Inflation feeds through into water bills, and this is driving these rises.

“We will make sure customers get value for money. Companies are investing £22 billion by 2015 – more than £935 for every property in England and Wales.

“This will deliver benefits to us all – from continuing to improve reliability of supplies to cleaner rivers and beaches. If companies don’t deliver on their investment promises, we will take action.”

However, this latest blow to household budgets is unlikely to be the latest for long.