Unison calls for fairer pricing by water companies

Jun 16 2009 By Henryk Zientek

A UNION has demanded fairer pricing for consumers after highlighting how water firms charge widely different prices for supplying their customers.

A survey by Unison, the public sector workers union, said some customers paid double what residents elsewhere in the UK pay for their water – despite water firms "raking in massive profits".

Unison said customers paid as much as £489 a year for water and sewerage services while others paid as little as £275 – depending on where they lived and if they had a meter.

The union said Yorkshire was the seventh most expensive company among the UK’s 11 water and sewerage companies.

It said the average annual water bill from Yorkshire Water stood at £153 with the average sewerage bill at £177 – making a total bill of £330.

In comparison, the average total bill from Scottish Water is £324 with Severn Trent at £304, Northumbrian at £298 and Thames Water at £275.

The most expensive average total bill is paid by customers of South West Water at £489 followed by Wessex Water on £412.

Unison said the price people paid seemed to bear no relation to the profits made by water companies – and that many were set to increase bills still further under pricing plans submitted to water industry watchdog Ofwat.