Welsh Water writes to thousands of customers telling them their bills are going up
Welsh Water customers are getting bills through their doors telling them how much their bills are going up by. Household water bills in Wales are set to increase by 42% over five years.
From April, people in Wales are set to see their water bills go up on average from £503 to £639, which is around a 27% increase. Some residents are seeing bills rising by as much as 33% - one bill payer in Cardiff has seen monthly payments go up from £85.30 to £113.83.
Another customer in Swansea said: "I've had a letter that says my direct debit payments will rise this year to £67.50 a month. Last year we were paying £44.50. That's a staggering rise and by calculations more like 34%. How is that justified?"
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The increase has been described as "significant" and "higher than expected" by one financial expert. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.
The nation's largest water company, Welsh Water Dwr Cymru, will be allowed to increase its bills from an average of £455 this year to £645 in five years time. Water companies across England and Wales have said that the increases will lead to more investment to deal with problems like leaks and sewage overflows. Hafren Dyfrdwy, which serves about 87,000 customers along the Wales-England border is increasing bills by 32% from April.
The letters that are going out to all customers are accompanied by a letter explaining why the bills are increasing this year and over the next four years. Chief executive Peter Perry says in the letter: "Over the last 15 year, bills have not risen in line with inflation.
"To ensure we continue to provide sustainable services and deal with risks such as those created by climate change, we need to increase investment in our water and wastewater infrastructure."
He also explained why the bills are amongst the highest in the sector, saying that it was "primarily due to the wastewater infrastructure" they had to build in coastal areas following privatisation.
Mr Perry said: "Up until the last 1990s, nearly 50% of sewage in Wales was discharged virtually untreated into the sea. Since then, our investment has contributed to more Blue Flag beaches in Wales than ever before. But as there is more to do, for us to improve service delivery, adapt our networks to the impacts of climate change, and to protect our rivers and seas, we now need to increase the level of investment."
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