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Anglian Water has pumped an additional £70 million into support packages for customers facing financial difficulty.
This brings the total the company has made available for customers struggling in the cost of living crisis to £206 million since 2020.
The water company estimates it will be able to help more than 380,000 customers in the coming year with the extra investment.
This will be in the form of tariffs discounted up to 50%, payment plans or breaks for eligible billpayers. The company anticipates an uptick in the number of households needing support as the cost of living crisis continues. More than 1.3 million billpayers have received some form of support in the current regulatory cycle.
Anglian director of customer and wholesale services Pete Holland said: “We know times are still tough for lots of our customers, with many bills increasing again this year, including water. We do all we can to keep bills affordable but we want people to know there is support available for anyone struggling to pay.”
The company’s bills are the second highest in England and Wales at £529 for combined water and waste services in 2024.
The industry average is £473 for combined bills. Following a re-determination from the Competition and Markets Authority, Anglian was authorised to invest more than Ofwat had approved, which the company argued was in-line with customer feedback on priorities.
Looking to the next regulatory period, Anglian’s PR24 business plan proposed a rise to around £571 by 2030, excluding inflation. The plan also included financial support provisions including 50% bill discounts for 230,000 households each year.
With additional regulatory requirements to protect and enhance the environment, especially around storm overflows and phosphorous removal, the water sector is seeking to invest record amounts in AMP8.
Anglian’s proposed plan is £9 billion, compared to £5.3 billion in the current period.
Consumer watchdog CCW assessed the business plans across the sector and praised Anglian, among others, for securing agreement from their customers to increase its social tariff for PR24.
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