South Staffs targets ‘long-term challenges’ in PR24 plan

South Staffs Water has said it plans to spend a total of £819 million between 2025 and 2030, including £40 million to ensure water quality and the reliability of its assets as well as £19 million on environmental measures.

The company said average annual bills would rise from £170 currently to £218 by 2030. The £48 increase would include around £25 of inflation, £7 of above-inflation increases in energy costs and £16 of additional expenditure to maintain water supplies over the long-term.

By 2030, South Staffs said each £1 charged to customers would breakdown to 39p of operational expenditure (excluding energy), 26p of capital investment, 14p of energy costs, 15p of financing costs, 5p of returns to shareholders and 2p of performance incentives.

The firm said it would provide financial support to 60,000 customers each year.

South Staffs said it would spend £13 million encouraging customers to be more efficient and £12.4 million to create a new water transfer from Anglian’s Grafham reservoir to its Cambridge region. The firm said it is aiming to reduce leakage levels by 20% in its Cambridge region and 15% in its South Staffs region.

In his foreword to the business plan, managing director Andy Willicott said: “We’re confident that our strategy will enable us to overcome long-term challenges, such as rising customer expectations, climate change, environmental protection and population growth. We think it will have a positive impact on our local communities and ensure local and environmental considerations always inform our decision-making processes. We also expect it to foster a culture of innovation within our everyday operations, which is essential for delivering the improvements our customers expect and are willing to fund.”