Martin Lewis warns ‘worst of both worlds’ as 1 household bill rises | Personal Finance | Finance
One household bill is set to rise, and Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, says it’s not good news for Brits.
Millions of consumers face paying more for their water after firms were given the go-ahead to hike bills further. Responding to an article on the change, Martin Lewis took to X to share his thoughts. He wrote: “More water bills rises announced today, on top of those already planned. Privatisation without competition, arguably the worst of both worlds.” Five water firms are to be provisionally allowed to raise their bills by between 1% and 5% more than previously granted by the regulator Ofwat.
The companies include Anglian, Northumbrian, Southern, Wessex and South East. James Wallace, CEO of River Action, said: “Once again, water bill payers are forced to shoulder the cost of decades of failure. Millions of households in England face higher bills while rivers continue to suffer from mismanagement by privatised water companies.
“In 2024 alone, four of these five companies were responsible for at least 1.4 million hours of sewage discharges into rivers and seas – a stark illustration of ongoing environmental harm. Together, they have accrued £22 billion in debt and, in 2024, paid out £240 million in dividends, leaving ageing infrastructure to fail and sewage to pollute our rivers. This is unacceptable.”
The five water companies serve more than seven million household and business customers, and had asked for much larger increases to bills than the ones granted.
Kirstin Baker, who chaired the independent group of experts appointed by the CMA to consider the price controls, said that the request for significant bill increases was “largely unjustified.”
Water minister Emma Hardy said: “I understand the public’s anger over bill rises — that’s why I expect every water company to offer proper support to anyone struggling to pay.
“We’ve made sure that investment cash goes into infrastructure upgrades, not bonuses, and we’re creating a tough new regulator to clean up our waterways and restore trust in the system.”
