Ofwat calls for reduced utility bills
Friday, 24 Jul 2009, 11:59am
Some households could see costs for water on their utility bills rise by nine per cent in the next five years.
The consumer watchdog for water utility bills has said that it wants to see the price of the service reduce from an average of £344 to £330 per year by 2015.Currently, Ofwat has not been involved in the setting of prices for water and sewerage, but it wants to ensure that costs are regulated to avoid discrepancies between companies.
Research by the organisation shows that some households may be paying up to nine per cent more than the average for water on their utility bills in five years' time, while other could be seeing reductions of nearly 14 per cent.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW), an independent body now working with Ofwat to influence the setting of prices of utility bills, wants to ensure that customers are not paying over the odds even before inflation sets in.
While a price hike is not an option the CCW want to see, a lowering in prices for water and sewerage services could also lead to lower quality services, despite the benefits it could have on tightening budgets in the current climate.
Dame Yve Buckland, chair of the CCW, said: "Customers must remember that these are average prices, so changes in water bills could vary from company to company and customer to customer, depending on their circumstances."
"Over the next month we will take time to go through Ofwat's draft decisions in detail to understand the full package of what customers are getting," she continued.
A recent study showed that the average household will cost its occupants nearly £1 million over their lifetime on utility bills, rent and insurance.
Carried out by Confused.com, the survey found that utility bills count for £60,708 of the £941,954 a household spends over their lives, with mortgage or rent payments making up the bulk of the costs at £321, 478.
© Copyright
