SOUTH WEST WATER – PIONEERS OF A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS – ANNOUNCES THAT AVERAGE BILLS WILL FALL IN 2021

03rd February 2021

Shaped by customers for customers, South West Water’s pioneering WaterShare+ scheme was launched at the end of 2020, giving customers a greater say and stake in the business.

One in 16 households in the region became shareholders in South West Water’s parent company, Pennon, heralding a new era in customer ownership. Those customers who didn’t opt to take shares were automatically given a £20 credit on their bill.

Today, South West Water, along with all water companies in the UK, has announced its average household bill for 2021/22. The average annual bill for water and wastewater services in 2021/22 will be less than the average for last year and lower than it was 10 years ago.

South West Water is also announcing a new Community Fund providing support for local projects and water-saving initiatives and encouraging employees to volunteer their time to help local community programmes.

South West Water’s Customer Service Director, Jo Ecroyd, said:

“At South West Water, we believe we have a unique role to play in supporting the lives of people and the places they love for generations to come.

“Doing what we can for customers, when we can, is really important – especially at this time. Covid-19 has affected everyone, everywhere. During the pandemic, we were one of the first water companies to extend our priority services register for those needing to self-isolate and quickly reached out to customers to offer help and assistance with payments.

“Our Community Funds are another great example of doing what we can, when we can, helping communities and each other to stay connected, supporting local projects that mean the most to customers.”

From 1 April 2021, the company’s average annual household bill for water and wastewater services will be £483, 4.5% less than the average for last year and lower than 10 years ago.

Individual customer bills will vary depending on several factors, including water usage, the rateable value of their house and whether they are on a meter.

Customers will also continue to benefit from the £50 Government Contribution for 2021/22.

Notes to editors

South West Water’s five-year ‘New Deal’ plan for 2020-25 was described by the industry regulator Ofwat as setting “a new standard for the sector”.

A feature of the New Deal is WaterShare+, our unique scheme which shares our success with customers and gives them a greater say in our business:

Sharing our success: WaterShare+ is our way of sharing rewards with customers when our performance is better than the targets agreed with our customers and our regulators.

Thanks to our performance between 2015 and 2020 we were able to share approximately £20 million with customers under WaterShare+, meaning that each eligible customer received £20 from us.

If we continue to outperform our current business plan to 2025, we will continue to share benefits with our customers under WaterShare+.

A greater say: A WaterShare+ Panel, which met for the first time in January 2021, has been established to advise on the interests of our customers by providing independent review on elements of our business plan commitments and Board Pledges.

You can find out more about the Panel on our website, where we’ll also keep you up-to-date with details of forthcoming meetings including how you can get involved and have a greater say: www.southwestwater.co.uk/watershareplus

Community Funds: We aim to support the communities we serve through projects that matter most. You can find out more about our Neighbourhood Fund, Water-Saving Community Fund and our ‘give an hour’ initiative on our website, including how you can apply: www.southwestwater.co.uk/community