How is my bill calculated

The way that we bill you depends on whether you are a metered customer or a non-metered customer. On the top of your bill it will say if your account is metered or non-metered. You can also find this information on your MyAccount Dashboard.

Metered

If you are a metered customer then you have a water meter at your property and we will bill you for the water you use.

We will normally read your meter twice a year, and send you your bills shortly after readings are taken. This year, the national lockdown meant that some customers have had an estimated read, but we are now able to take normal readings again. If you've spent more time at home this year, you may find you've been using more water than average, leading to a higher bill. To tackle this, you may find our tips for reducing water usage helpful.  

• Get free water devices
• Your Metered bill explained

Non-metered

If you are a non-metered customer then you don’t have a water meter at your property and your bills are calculated using Rateable Value instead. You will receive one bill a year and it is a fixed amount and is not related to the number of occupiers in your property.

• Your Non-metered bill explained
• Get a meter

Find out more information about:

• Rateable Value

  Rateable Values are set by the Valuation Office of the Inland Revenue and are loosely based on what the average rental value of your property would be.

  We base our non-metered charges on the Rateable Value assigned to each property, so the higher the Rateable Value for a property the larger the non-metered charges will be.

  More information about Rateable Value can be found on our regulator OFWAT’s website.

• Assessed Charges

  If we have tried to install a meter at your property but couldn’t do so then you may be instead be billed on assessed charges. This means you receive one bill a year just like non-metered customers, but we calculate these charges based on the number of occupiers in the property.

  If you are on assessed charges and need to update your details please contact us.

• Have your prices changed?

  Our tariff - the amount we charge for the supply of clean water, is reviewed each year. We don't like to increase our prices (we've kept them low for 5 years), but this year, from the 1st of April 2021, it will become necessary to make changes to the amount we charge, so that we can deliver on our commitments to you.

  You can find the full details of our tariffs in our Customer Charges Scheme, but we've provided some simpler examples based on average bills below.

  If you have a meter, based on an average bill size, you can expect to pay around £1.15 more each month on your combined bill (water and wastewater) - assuming the amount of water you use stays the same.

  If you do not have a meter, based on an average bill you can expect to pay around £1.63 more each month on your combined bill.

  Our prices are overseen by our regulator OFWAT, who make sure that our plans and our investments are fair and beneficial for our customers.

  

• How is your money invested?

  We supply over 3.6 million people and families with clean and reliable water for about 1p per 10 litres. And we continuously invest to keep our services running throughout the year.

  In 2021/2022, we are set to invest £174 million to keep your taps flowing with high- quality drinking water you can rely on. We will be investing in innovative technology to drive down leakage, with an ambition to have reduced leakage by 20% by 2025. We're replacing pumps to make them more efficient, installing innovative technology to help us detect problems faster and finding new and more sustainable ways to move your water from source to tap. Not only will this help to guarantee we have enough water to meet future demand it will also help to protect our beautiful and rare local chalk streams.

• Help if you're struggling to pay

  We want to make it as easy as possible for you to get help if you're struggling to pay your bill. 

  • If you’ve had a sudden life change, such as illness or recent unemployment, that means paying your bill is a stretch right now, we may be able to arrange a payment break for you until you’re back on your feet
  • We can also help you to set up a payment plan to spread the cost of your bill
  • Or if you’re receiving certain benefits, such as Universal Credit or Job Seeker’s allowance, you may be eligible for our fixed rate low-income tariff

  To find out more about how we could help you please visit our payment help page. Or to arrange a call back from one of our advisors, please leave your details here.