Severn Trent Water customers in Birmingham to be charged more on their water bills after company met target

The information was released by Ofwat this week
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Severn Trent customers in Birmingham could see their bills rise soon due to the company  reaching its  pollution targets.

The water company regulator, Ofwat, has announced 11 companies will be fined a total of almost £150m and will be told to reduce  customers’ bills in the next financial year due to missed targets.

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But as  Severn Trent Water exceeded  its targets, the company will be able to  raise bills, although a spokesperson said the increase will be “below-inflation”.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “Severn Trent is pleased to be recognised for its industry leading performance, consistently receiving the highest four-star rating by the Environment Agency.

“With the second lowest bill in the land at around £1 a day, our soon to be published draft charges show a below-inflation bill increase next year and to help our customers with the impact of cost-of-living pressures, we have increased our social tariff fund by an extra £30m to help a further 100,000 people, in addition to the 215,000 already receiving up to 90% off their bill.”

David Black, Ofwat CEO, said:  “When it comes to delivering for their customers, too many water companies are falling short, and we are requiring them to return around £150m to their customers.

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“We expect companies to improve their performance every year; where they fail to do so, we will hold them to account.

“The poorest performers, Southern Water and Thames Water, will have to return almost £80m to their customers.

“All water companies need to earn back the trust of customers and the public and we will continue to challenge the sector to improve.”

How much more money can Severn Trent Water recover from customers?

Companies who have performed the best will now be permitted to generate extra from customer bills.

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Severn Trent has in fact performed the best out of all of the water companies in areas such as biodiversity, and as a result will be allowed to generate an extra £62.9 million from bills.

Which firms can charge more?

  • Bristol Water - £0.6m
  • Portsmouth Water - £0.8m
  • Severn Trent Water - £62.9
  • South Staffs Water £3.3m
  • United Utilities - £24.1m
  • Wessex Water - £4.4m

Which water companies are being fined?

  • Affinity Water - £0.8m
  • Anglian Water - £8.5m
  • Dwr Cymru - £8m
  • Hafren Dyfrdwy - £0.4m
  • Northumbrian Water - £20.3m
  • SES Water - £0.3m
  • South East Water - £3.2m
  • South West Water - £13.3m
  • Southern Water - £28.3m
  • Thames Water - £51m
  • Yorkshire Water - £15.2m

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