 Water customers could be facing higher bills |
Three water companies may be allowed to raise their prices to offset rising costs, the industry regulator has said. If regulators back the move, Anglian Water, United Utilities and Northumbrian Water customers will see an increase in their bills from April, Ofwat said.
The regulator, Ofwat, said it was weighing up whether to allow the trio to raise their prices because of changes to their financial position.
It added the three firms had told it they had seen major changes to income and costs that were not included in assumptions made during the last price review.
Cost equation
A final decision will be made in December.
Ofwat director general Philip Fletcher said: "We shall be looking carefully to see whether the financial changes are big enough for us to reset the companies' price limits."
According to Ofwat, Anglian and United blamed construction expenses, rising customer debt, changes to water quality monitoring requirements, and flooding from sewers for pushing up their costs.
It added that Northumbrian Water had cited an unforeseen fall in demand from large users and fewer than expected new properties in the regions it serves.
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