Water

WATER bills for Hertfordshire customers will go up by an average of £3 a year from April – but that’s still well below the national average.

Veolia Water Central has announced it will increase its water-only bills at a below-inflation rate of 1.8 per cent. The industry average rise for water and sewerage bills announced today is 5.7 per cent.

It means annual water bills for Veolia Central customers will go up from an average of £171 to £174 for 2012/13, or around 48p a day.

The changes will come into effect on April 1.

Vincent Muldoon, customer relations director of the Hatfield-based company, claimed the bills continued to represent “fantastic” value for money.

“In the current economic climate a rise in bills is the last thing our customers want,” he said.

“We recognise this and that’s why we have worked very hard to keep bills affordable, but at the same time ensure that we can maintain the very high levels of service that our customers have come to expect.

“Our water is fantastic value for money at less than 50p a day, and in return, our customers will continue to receive all the high quality drinking water they could need.”

Nationally, the average water and sewerage bill will rise by around £20 to £376.

Regina Finn, chief executive of watchdog Ofwat said: “We understand that any bill rise is unwelcome, particularly in tough economic times. Inflation feeds through into water bills, and this is driving these rises.

“We will make sure customers get value for money. Companies are investing £22 billion by 2015 – more than £935 for every property in England and Wales. This will deliver benefits to us all – from continuing to improve reliability of supplies to cleaner rivers and beaches.

“If companies don’t deliver on their investment promises, we will take action.”