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Southern Water has extended financial support for households facing hardship by providing a £98 million package of discounts and grants.
The minimum discount on bills offered to 104,000 households will rise from 20% to 45% and the company will extend the support to 21,000 more billpayers.
Those in greatest need can receive discounts up to 90% off of their combined water and sewerage bills while the annual saving is around £200, the company said.
Chief customer officer Katy Taylor said: “As water is an essential service that people cannot live without, we believe it is critical that we support thousands of vulnerable households in our region who need a break.”
As part of the financial aid package, Southern has committed to give 20 community centres energy grants of £1,000 for heating during the winter.
“We are in an extremely fortunate position where we can help, which is why we have put together a package worth £98 million to support customers who need help, until 2025,” Taylor said.
Discounts will be automatically applied to essentials tariff customers by April 2023.
Regulator Ofwat called on the sector to go further to support financially vulnerable householders during the cost-of-living crisis. Meanwhile CCW has rallied the sector in support of a single social tariff to end the current ‘postcode lottery’ of tariffs. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been reviewing the proposal and is expected to consult on it.
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