Water bills from April 2027: what is set, company by company

• ✓Ofwat's charges scheme rules require each water company in England and Wales to publish its charges scheme no later than 1 February before the charging year that starts on 1 April. For 2027-28, that is 1 February 2027. New appointees, the local companies that serve some new developments, have until 22 February.
• ✓The same rules say companies should publish a statement of any significant changes by 13 January. Ofwat counts a bill rise of more than 5% from the previous year, for a type of customer, as significant.
• ✓South East Water says the price it charges from 1 April 2027 will be confirmed by 31 January 2027.
• ✓Two Ofwat decisions due in December 2026 feed into what companies can charge in 2027-28: its final cost change determinations and the incentive payments for companies' performance in 2025-26.

Sources: Ofwat: Charges Scheme Rules from April 2023 (read 15 October 2026); Ofwat: IN 25/04, information requirements for water company charges for 2026-27 (read 15 October 2026); South East Water: the price for drinking water is increasing (read 15 October 2026); Ofwat: cost change draft determinations 2026, sector overview (August 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofwat published its final determinations for April 2025 to March 2030 in December 2024. It presents its figures in 2022-23 prices, adjusted for inflation using CPIH, and its bill figures are forecasts of average household bills before inflation.
• ✓Ofwat put the average water and sewerage bill at £440 in 2024-25, £526 in 2025-26 and £597 by 2029-30, and the average water-only bill at £192, £215 and £234.
• ✓So more than half of the average rise came in the first year: £86 of the £157 for water and sewerage companies.
• ✓Ofwat says its decision is about the revenue each company can collect, and the average bill is a forecast. Actual bills also move with inflation, water use, company performance and later decisions.
• ✓CCW: the averages do not include inflation, which water companies can add to customers' bills each year.

Sources: Ofwat: PR24 final determinations, our approach (February 2025) (read 15 October 2026); Ofwat: overview of Thames Water's PR24 final determination (December 2024) (read 15 October 2026); CCW: how much will my water and sewerage bills increase by 2030? (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓CMA, 10 March 2026: the group redetermined the price controls of Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, South East Water, Southern Water and Wessex Water, with an expected average bill increase of 2.2% on top of the 24% Ofwat's decision meant for their customers.
• ✓Average bills over 2025 to 2030, in 2022-23 prices: Anglian Water £591 under Ofwat and £602 after the CMA, South East Water £274 and £284, Southern Water £620 and £641, Wessex Water £594 and £614. Northumbrian Water's allowances did not change overall.
• ✓Southern Water says the CMA's decision means its average bill will increase by a further 2.5% from April 2027.
• ✓Wessex Water says the CMA's decisions on its investment will be reflected in bills from April 2027 onwards, and that its 2026 charges were not affected.
• ✓Thames Water also rejected its final determination, but Ofwat says its referral has been deferred while it pursues a recapitalisation.

Sources: CMA: final decision on disputed price controls for 5 water companies (10 March 2026) (read 15 October 2026); CMA: water PR24 references, final determinations summary (10 March 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Southern Water: Competition & Markets Authority final determination (read 15 October 2026); Wessex Water: changes to our charges (read 15 October 2026); Ofwat: Monitoring Financial Resilience Report 2024-25 (November 2025) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Ofwat's August 2026 draft gives 13 companies £3.4 billion of extra expenditure allowances over 2025 to 2035. The consultation closed on 24 September 2026.
• ✓Only five companies get funding before 2030 in the draft: Severn Trent Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and South East Water. Ofwat says any effect on bills would begin from April 2027.
• ✓Ofwat's illustrative extra on an average bill in 2027-28, in 2022-23 prices: Southern Water £43, Wessex Water £4, Severn Trent Water £3, Thames Water £3 and South East Water nothing (£1 by 2029-30).
• ✓Ofwat says these are averages across all customer types, and that inflation and existing price control adjustments also decide whether bills rise or fall each year.
• ✓For every other company, any extra allowed in this round is recovered from April 2030. Affinity Water, Portsmouth Water and South Staffs Water made no claims.

Sources: Ofwat: cost change draft determinations 2026, sector overview (August 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Scotland: Scottish Water sets household charges within limits set by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. It raised the average household charge by £42 to £532 from 1 April 2026, and most homes pay it through council tax.
• ✓Northern Ireland: NI Water's 2026/27 charges announcement confirms that domestic water charges remain deferred.

Sources: Scottish Water: average household water bill to increase by £42 from April 2026 (read 15 October 2026); NI Water: 2026/27 charges (31 March 2026) (read 15 October 2026)

• ✓Household water cannot be switched, so there is no commission in it for anyone. Taupia keeps the water bill next to your energy, broadband and mobile, with the amount, the due date and each housemate's share on the rule your household sets.
• ✓When April's new charges arrive, the change sits beside the rest of your bills rather than in a letter you have to find.
• ✓For energy, broadband and mobile, Taupia compares deals and switches only once your household approves. Nothing changes without your approval, and Taupia never moves your money.
• ✓Taupia is free.

• ✓The figures are Ofwat's December 2024 forecasts of average household bills, before inflation, in 2022-23 prices. Water-only companies' figures leave out sewerage, which comes from a separate company.
• ✓The further rise after 2025-26 is Taupia's arithmetic: Ofwat's 2029-30 figure minus its 2025-26 figure. Ofwat does not publish how that splits across the April changes from 2026 to 2029.
• ✓Ofwat's South West Water figures include the Bristol Water area.
• ✓The CMA and cost change figures in the last column are also in 2022-23 prices, so they compare directly with Ofwat's.

Sources: Ofwat: PR24 final determinations, our approach (February 2025) (read 15 October 2026); CMA: final decision on disputed price controls for 5 water companies (10 March 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Ofwat: cost change draft determinations 2026, sector overview (August 2026) (read 15 October 2026); Southern Water: Competition & Markets Authority final determination (read 15 October 2026); Ofwat: Monitoring Financial Resilience Report 2024-25 (November 2025) (read 15 October 2026); Wessex Water: changes to our charges (read 15 October 2026); South East Water: the price for drinking water is increasing (read 15 October 2026)