Water sector should do more to support struggling customers

Water companies should plough more of their profits into helping support struggling customers, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) has urged the sector.

The water watchdog has warned that about three-quarters of nearly three million customers who say their water bills are unaffordable will not receive “a penny of support unless water companies dip into their own pockets” to bolster assistance schemes.

However, it highlighted more than half a million low-income households are now receiving financial help to reduce their water bills.

CCWater’s new report – Water for all: affordability and vulnerability in the water sector 2017/18 – shows that good progress was made by the industry last year in increasing the number of households in vulnerable circumstances receiving support with their bills or other specific needs.

This included just over a 50 per cent rise in the number of people on a low income receiving subsidised water bills through customer-funded social tariffs.

But the watchdog suggests the growth and impact of these schemes remains “heavily constrained” by other customers’ willingness to fund them.

Andy White, senior policy manager of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Our lives depend on water so none of us should have to worry about whether we can afford it – but for nearly three million households it’s a serious concern.

“We are calling on water companies to bridge the gap by dipping into their own pockets to expand the support available, rather than exhausting the goodwill of their customers. People are far more willing to chip in when they see their water company playing its part.”

CCWater is also urging companies to work together to address the “significant regional variations” which mean customers’ access and levels of assistance are largely dependent on where they live.

The watchdog wants to see a more uniform approach which would help to simplify the system and offer protection to those that are most financially vulnerable.

The report also shines a light on the good progress being made by many companies in increasing the number of customers signed up to Priority Services Registers. These allow customers to access additional services tailored to meet their needs due to a disability or other specific circumstances. Nearly 345,000 customers are currently registered for extra help, up 37 per cent since 2013/14.

In response to the report, SES Water announced it has almost doubled the number of customers receiving financial assistance thanks to its shareholder funding.

The water company said it has 9,600 customers on its water support scheme. In its current five-year business plan, SES Water pledged to help 5,000 eligible customers by 2020 through the scheme which provides a 50 per cent bill reduction.

Dan Lamb, head of retail services at SES Water said: “Most of our customers do not struggle to pay their bill but we recognise that for some people it can be a challenge which is why we set out to significantly increase the number of eligible people on our water support scheme.

“As the scheme is funded through a £2 supplement from other customers, this does mean that there has been a gap in funding which we have bridged with money from our shareholders which is set to increase as we aim to have over 11,000 customers on the tariff by next year.”

Southern Water, meanwhile, said it was helping more than 226,000 customers in financial difficulty – an increase of 116 per cent since 2015.

CCWater said it also wants companies to focus more on improving their support for customers who suddenly need extra help due to unexpected events including extreme weather, bereavement or illness.

It highlighted the lack of support provided to many customers who needed additional help when freezing temperatures disrupted water supplies in March this year and exposed some water companies’ failings. Last month, the watchdog published new guidance on how water companies can improve how they deliver priority support to consumers in vulnerable circumstances.