Scottish Water: price rises “strike the right balance” in avoiding higher, future increases

Scottish Water customers who pay full charges will see a 2.5% price increase for the year from 1 April, as the water company starts its journey of investing more to achieve resilience and net zero carbon goals.

The increase is in line with the objectives of the SRC21 final determination published by the Water Industry Commis

sion for Scotland in December. The water company said a Band C household would see bills rise by £10 to £408.

In tandem, support has been increased for those who need help to pay. The Water Charges Reduction Scheme discount has been increased from 25% to 35% and extended to include 290,000 households. In all, 446,000 households will pay less in 2021/22 than last year, meaning the average increase across all customers is brought down to 0.9%.

Chief executive, Douglas Millican (pictured), said: “The combined challenges of ageing assets and climate change, as well as the need to drive down our carbon emissions, mean we have no option other than to invest for the future…We are very aware of the economic conditions and the pressure on household finances and that is why we have restricted charge increases to a maximum of 2.5%.

"This decision, together with the Scottish Government decision in its Principles of Charging to increase and extend the Water Charges Reduction Scheme, strike the right balance between helping our customers this year and avoiding much higher increases in future years.”