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The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) is calling for a more “standard approach” to social tariffs.
The group’s chair, Alan Lovell, said the area of social tariffs is “frustrating”, although most water companies “are trying”.
Speaking at the Utility Week Water Customer Conference, he said there was a “lack of consistency” in the way social tariffs are set, and CCWater wants to see more integration with other agencies.
“That’s one of the things where we shall be hoping to make a difference,” he said.
According to the industry’s representative body, Water UK, 14 of the 18 water companies have social tariffs, with the remaining four intending to have them in place this year.
Since joining CCWater as chairman last April, Lovell has been pushing for a national social tariff.
Speaking to Utility Week last May, Lovell said a centrally funded social tariff supporting vulnerable consumers is where “we and the consumers would ideally like [the sector] to go”.
Social tariffs were introduced in the water sector in 2012, and are just one way that companies provide help for customers. In 2015/16, water companies will provide a package of measures worth more than £40 million to support customers who are struggling to pay or in debt.
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