Yorkshire Water highlights rising energy cost of water use

It will cost over £1,000 for a year of hot baths in 2023, Yorkshire Water warned customers, as it highlighted the rising cost of heating water in the home as energy prices rocket.

The company’s novel "Teapot index’" calculated the energy costs of heating water over the past decade and made predictions for 2023 (see table). It paired this with tips for users on how to reduce hot water consumption and energy bills.

Yorkshire said: “Running a bath is the most expensive domestic use of water, costing £542.88 in 2022, a 79% rise since 2021 (£303.70). Following closely behind is using a dishwasher, costing £236.60 in 2022, up from £132.68 in 2021, and a washing machine, costing £222.77 in 2022, an annual increase of 95%. Even the humble cup of tea is not immune to price increases, costing £18.69 to boil your kettle and make a brew in 2022, compared with £10.37 in 2021 (80% increase).

“These costs are predicted to increase by an average of 18% in 2023, whilst the cost of running a bath is predicted to skyrocket to almost double the cost this year, coming in at an eye-watering £1,023.36.”

Meanwhile research for Water UK found 94% of the public underestimate how much water they use each day. Water UK reported: “When asked, 67% thought their household uses less than 69l of water per day – the equivalent of a five-minute shower. Over a fifth (21%) believed their household uses 19l or less, which is only enough to flush the toilet twice.”