We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Confusion over price increases

By way of context, I live in the Thames Water area and have a water meter. I saw today's article about water bills going up next April. According to that article in the TW region bills are increasing in April 2025 by 25%.

This caused me to look back as I have only just paid my latest bill which was a big increase compared to last year so I was curious what this year's (i.e. April 2024) increase had been. According to an MSE article in February this year Thames Water bills were going up by 3% from April 2024.

I therefore checked my bill from earlier this year and, according to that, my fresh water charge rates increased by 7.80% (£1.7760 to £1.9145) and the waste water rates increased by 15.17% (£1.0017 to £1.1537) as from 1st April 2024.

I am therefore failing to understand why the rates I am paying have gone up way more than the February MSE article suggested they should have and am concerned that, in turn, the rates next April will go up by way more than the indicated 25%.

Any light that can be shed on this for me would be gratefully received.

Comments

  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 15,210 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Third Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    I therefore checked my bill from earlier this year and, according to that, my fresh water charge rates increased by 7.80% (£1.7760 to £1.9145) and the waste water rates increased by 15.17% (£1.0017 to £1.1537) as from 1st April 2024.
    I am therefore failing to understand why the rates I am paying have gone up way more than the February MSE article suggested
    Your bill isn't solely made up of volumetric charges. There are fixed charges too.
    Regardless of what you might have read on MSE, Thames Water themselves said that bills would rise by an average of 12.3% in April 2024.
    ... am concerned that, in turn, the rates next April will go up by way more than the indicated 25%.
    I don't know which article you were reading, but all the ones I can find with a quick search say that Thames Water's bills will be increasing by 35% by 2030. That doesn't mean the entire increase will happen in 2025.
    https://news.sky.com/story/water-bills-to-rise-full-list-of-what-they-cost-now-and-how-much-theyre-going-up-by-across-england-and-wales-13276332

    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Shell (now TT) BB / Lebara mobi. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
    2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 33MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
    Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.
    Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
  • Macrencephal
    Macrencephal Posts: 4 Newbie
    Ninth Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    edited 19 December 2024 at 8:17PM
    I can't link as the system won't let me but the latest article I am referring to is today's MSE article regarding the April 2025 price increases that states the 2025/6 increase over 2024/5 is 25% (average annual price from £436 to £544, an increase of £108).
  • I'm curious why the MSE article from February was so inaccurate then. I had thought it was a reliable source of information, but this is causing me to seriously doubt it.
  • I'm curious why the MSE article from February was so inaccurate then. I had thought it was a reliable source of information, but this is causing me to seriously doubt it.
    The percentages are based on the average bill, anyone who deviates from that with greater or lesser usage will find that their percentage is different to the headline percentage due to the different rises between the standing charge and unit rate. The rise is also higher for those on water rates and lower for those with a meter. The headline figure is just there to provide a rough guide to the average household and to allow a headline and a dumbed down article.
  • I have the same query. We live in the Severn Trent water area and live in a band B property but don'y have a meter, our bill for 2024-25 was fresh water £332.96, and waste water etc £297.14 making a total of £630.10. According to the prices quoted on the recent MSE newsletter the average price for our area was around £400, are these average figures quoted for meters users ?
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.