Water companies in England and Wales told to cut £114mn off bills

Receive free Water Services Regulation Authority UK updates

We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Water Services Regulation Authority UK news every morning.

Water companies in England and Wales have been told to reduce bills by a net £114mn next year, after the regulator found evidence of poor performance at most of them.

Ofwat, the industry regulator, on Tuesday said nearly all the 19 water and sewage companies missed targets on pollution, water leakage and customer service.

None of the companies reached the top “leading” category for 2022-23, the regulator said. Seven were categorised as “lagging” — the worst category — including Anglian Water, Dŵr Cymru, Southern Water, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Bristol Water and South East Water.

David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said: “The targets we set for companies were designed to be stretching — to drive improvements for customers and the environment. However, our latest report shows they are falling short.”

He added: “It is not going to be easy for companies to regain public trust, but they have to start with better service for customers and the environment. We will continue to use all our powers to ensure the sector delivers better value.”