MSE News: Anglian Water SoLow customer? It's axing the tariff meaning bill hikes

redfox wrote: »

it will affect me too and I'm extremely annoyed about it as you can't move so you just have to put up with it.

As far as I am aware no other water company other than Anglian operates a tariff similar to SoLow. So it would be no help to move; and you just might be paying considerably more if they did allow a move. After all everyone in the country would move to the cheapest company.


Much as I can appreciate you being annoyed at a large increase in your charges, IMO it is difficult to disagree with Anglian's statement in Post#5 above. If you are a low user you pay low charges anyway.


The operation of Solow meant, say, a couple with consumption of 74m3 a year, would pay a fraction of the charges of, say, a property with 5 occupants who used 76m3 a year.


Given the financing of water companies, it is also pertinent to point out the subsidy for SoLow is paid for in increased charges for all other Anglian customers.

veryintrigued wrote: »

Trying to prettify a sunstantianal large price hike with phrases like 'the cross subsidy for SoLow has been supporting a much broader range of customers' is just !!!!.

Will this 'broader range of customers' see a reduction in price?

Why is it 'just !!!!'? It is absolutely accurate.


All water companies' revenue, and hence profit, is controlled by the Regulator. Any subsidy like SoLow and Watersure doesn't affect the revenue the company will raise. It is paid for by the other customers in increased charges.


So removing any subsidy like SoLow will mean that other customers will pay less. I have no idea of that subsidy in monetary terms, and how that reduction will be implemented, bearing in mind that SoLow is being phased out over a couple of years. However Ofwat - the one Regulator who has teeth - will obviously ensure that their permitted revenue each year will not be exceeded.

I am one of these consumers and initially when the letter came through earlier this week my gut instinct was 'well SoLow has been good but it had to end'. Then I thought no, this isn't on. They process less clean water for me, less sewage, everywhere here is on a meter so it's no real extra cost to go out of their way to read my meter.

So I've decided they're not on. The other thing is there's around 300,000 customers who may also have a legitimate grievance. That means if all of us raise a grievance they have to listen. For me, surely this is about charging us for what we actually use not for a service just being there, so there's potentially an argument to scrap the standing charge for everyone and increase unit prices. That must be fairer?

Here's what I wrote at https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/household/contact-us/enquiry/ :

I would like to register a formal complaint following receiving a letter from you advising you are withdrawing the SoLow tariff. I appreciate your reasons you have given in justification for this decision, however with my current low water usage I am not satisfied with your stated reasons particularly since I am expecting a bill increase of around £100 per year once the graduated price rise completes.

I am requesting as a resolution you either maintain the SoLow rates or produce proposals for other tariffs that a) do not include standing charges and b) mean my bills will not increase percentage-wise any more than the majority of Anglian Water customers annual percentage increase.

I await your response and would appreciate to learn your decision so I can decide whether to escalate your position to the Consumer Council for Water.