Energy crisis magnifies need for single water tariff

A single social tariff for financially vulnerable water customers is “even more important” in the context of a wider cost of living crisis, CCW has said.

Head of social policy team Andy White told Utility Week there is simultaneously a marathon and a sprint underway to support low-income households.

“Looking at the wider context of the cost of living crisis, the single social tariff is even more important now than when we kicked off the Affordability Review (a year ago). We knew there was uncertainty over the financial impacts from the pandemic – and companies did good work to address that – but what we didn’t know was the energy bill crisis round the corner,” White said.

“We need to ensure that water doesn’t face the same crisis that we’re now seeing in energy. The single social tariff will help in the longer term.”

CCW is working with Defra and the Welsh government to establish how to implement a scheme and what it will look like. Primary legislation will be required to have a single social tariff in place for the start of the next price review period in 2025.

“We need to carry on full-steam ahead now to give peace of mind to water consumers that they won’t have the same situation in the future that’s currently facing energy customers, we will have peace of mind that people will always be able to afford their bills in the future,” White said.

The review suggested the cost of lifting 1.5 million households out of water poverty equates to around £6 per home annually.

Defra is due to launch a consultation after the local election period. “It will take time to implement but this will be in place to provide protection for decades to come,” White said.

He added: “We’re running that marathon but also a sprint because we know people will need help in the coming months as the cost of living crisis bites so it’s great to see companies putting in place recommendations from the report.”

The report included 40 proposals for companies including to develop a better understanding of their customers’ needs and raise awareness of the support they can offer and for all customers to be able to interact more easily with their water company irrespective of their circumstances.

Ongoing pilot studies include:

Thames has aligned affordability and efficiency measures, which White said was particularly beneficial for households using more than 500l daily, which is around 20% of the customer base.

Affinity has begun promoting financial support directly to customers who sign up to the Priority Services Register (PSR). “This recognises there is often an overlap between customers in wider vulnerability and financial vulnerability,” White said. This simple message within the PSR welcome pack informs people about available support. “This is a really simple measure that other companies have followed because it’s easy to put in place.”

South Staffs and Cambridge, and Welsh Water have improved the visibility of support options in customer interactions, with prominent messaging on bills and on the envelopes themselves. “This recognises that people who are struggling can feel reluctant to even open the envelope for fear of what is inside, so having the message of support can be really valuable.”