Why is my bill going up?
The amount we can charge you for supplying your drinking water is set every five years by OFWAT, the independent regulator for the water industry in England and Wales. OFWAT also decides how much we can invest in our network.
You can find out more about the price review process here(opens in a new tab).
How much is my bill going up?
We're sorry, we know a price rise is never welcome, but to continue to supply your drinking water and make improvements to our services, we need to increase prices.
From 1 April, 2025, the average yearly household bill will be £294. This works out at around 81p a day for all the water you use at home – for drinking, cooking, cleaning, gardening and anything else you need it for. This is a 20% increase, or 14p a day, on last year's average bill.
This includes all customers, and covers a range of tariffs - both metered and unmetered. As a result the increase you see on your bill may be different from the average bill.
Waste water charges
The waste water companies, such as Southern Water and Thames Water, have their own average increases, which are around 47%.
Generally it costs more to treat and remove the dirty water than it does to supply fresh water, so waste water charges tend to be higher.
We bill our customers for waste water services on behalf of Southern Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent Connect and Icosa Water. We do this to make things simpler for our shared customers.
Not sure who your waste water supplier is? You can find this on your bill or use this link(opens in a new tab).
Do you have any more questions?
We have some FAQs on our website that might help answer any further questions you might have about the price rise.
Average bill changes
Individual customers' bills will vary and could be more or less expensive than the advertised average.
The table below shows the change in the average bill from 2025/26, for measured and unmeasured customers:
| 2025-26 | Average bill | Change in £ | Change in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | £293.22 | 48.32 | 20.37% |
| Unmeasured | £299.71 | 49.17 | 19.73% |
How we bill you
Metered bills:
If your property has a water meter, we'll bill you every six months based on how much water you've used. This is measured in cubic metres (m3) by your meter. Your bill will also include a standing charge.
Unmetered bills:
If your property doesn't have a meter, you'll receive one bill a year. This covers the period from 1 April to 31 March the following year.
These charges cover the cost of taking water from the environment, treating it, and supplying top-quality drinking water to your taps.
Support On Tap
We understand that talking about money can be difficult. If you're struggling to pay your bill, we have a range of schemes to help.
Social tariff
From 1 April 2025, we're changing our Social Tariff structure to help even more customers who need support paying their bills.
What's changing?
We'll apply a tiered discount based on your household income (not including any disability or housing payments you receive).
- If your total household income is between £17,000 and £21,000, you'll receive a 30% discount on your water bill.
- If your household income is less than £17,000, you'll receive a 50% discount.
As we also bill you for waste water, the tariff will include a discount on that part of your bill too.
You can find out more about our Social Tariff and other schemes here.
Other ways we can help
We've also expanded our data sharing scheme with local councils. This helps us automatically identify and sign up eligible customers who might benefit from extra financial help.
Our Trusted Partners Scheme works with charities and voluntary groups to automatically transfer customers onto the tariff and Priority Services Register without needing to apply.
If you haven't heard from us about this and need some extra help, please get in touch. We're here to help.
What is a cubic metre (m3)?
One cubic metre might not sound like much, but it's the same as 1,000 litres – that's like ten washing machine cycles.
It's a unit of volume that measures one metre wide, one metre high, and one metre deep.
Our charges 2025-26
Metered charges 2025-26
| Sussex | Mid Kent | West Kent | Mid Southern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing charge | £45.48 | £45.48 | £45.48 | £45.48 |
| Volumetric charge per m3 | £2.74 | £2.74 | £2.74 | £2.08 |
| Typical bill | £319.51 | £319.51 | £319.51 | £253.06 |
Unmetered charges 2025-26
| Sussex | Mid Kent | West Kent | Mid Southern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing charge | £41.54 | £91.66 | £41.54 | £41.54 |
| Rateable Value (RV) | £2.67 | £2.22 | £2.50 | £1.61 |
| Typical bill | £539.79 | £505.27 | £508.19 | £341.45 |
Assessed charges
| Sussex | Mid Kent | West Kent | Mid Southern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | £230.28 | £230.28 | £230.28 | £189.70 |
| Two bedrooms | £305.86 | £305.86 | £305.86 | £256.72 |
| Three bedrooms | £387.10 | £387.10 | £387.10 | £312.64 |
| Four bedrooms | £440.60 | £440.60 | £440.60 | £363.94 |
| Five bedrooms | £532.74 | £532.74 | £532.74 | £427.34 |
| Six+ bedrooms | £810.66 | £810.66 | £810.66 | £823.36 |
| Single room | £142.14 | £142.14 | £142.14 | £120.94 |
| Single occupier | £186.40 | £186.40 | £186.40 | £155.12 |
| Other dwellings | £186.40 | £186.40 | £186.40 | £155.12 |
Our charges 2024-25
Metered charges 2024-25
| Sussex | Mid Kent | West Kent | Mid Southern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing charge | £32.48 | £32.48 | £32.48 | £32.48 |
| Volumetric charge per m3 | £2.25 | £2.25 | £2.25 | £1.70 |
| Typical bill | £257.47 | £257.47 | £257.47 | £209.93 |
Unmetered charges 2024-45
| Sussex | Mid Kent | West Kent | Mid Southern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing charge | £29.02 | £68.98 | £29.02 | £29.02 |
| Rateable Value (RV) | £2.20 | £1.82 | £2.06 | £1.32 |
| Typical bill | £436.98 | £407.62 | £411.09 | £274.61 |
Assessed charges 2024-25
| Sussex | Mid Kent | West Kent | Mid Southern | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One bedroom | £182.82 | £182.82 | £182.82 | £146.94 |
| Two bedrooms | £245.82 | £245.82 | £245.82 | £205.40 |
| Three bedrooms | £312.64 | £312.64 | £312.64 | £251.42 |
| Four bedrooms | £356.66 | £356.66 | £356.66 | £293.64 |
| Five bedrooms | £432.48 | £432.48 | £432.48 | £345.80 |
| Six+ bedrooms | £661.10 | £661.10 | £661.10 | £671.60 |
| Single room | £111.14 | £111.14 | £111.14 | £93.70 |
| Single occupier | £147.56 | £147.56 | £147.56 | £121.82 |
| Other dwellings | £147.56 | £147.56 | £147.56 | £121.82 |
Help paying your bill
If you're struggling to pay your bill, please don't worry. We're here to help.
We have a range of support tariffs and can confidentially discuss an affordable payment plan. The best thing to do is give us a call so we can find the right option for you.
Waste water charges
We only supply clean drinking water. We don't deal with waste water or sewage.
We do bill you on behalf of Southern Water and Thames Water to make things simpler, but we are a separate company.
This means we can't help with waste water emergencies, as this isn't part of our network.
- Southern Water area, please call 0330 303 0368(opens in a new tab)
- Thames Water area, please call 0800 316 9800(opens in a new tab)
If you're not sure which area you're in you can use the handy postcode tool on the Water UK website(opens in a new tab)
