Three water firms in the south allowed to raise bills further
South East Water, Southern Water, and Wessex Water have been given a provisional go ahead
Three water firms in the south are to be provisionally allowed to raise their bills by between 1% and 5% more than previously granted by regulator Ofwat, the competition watchdog has said.
South East Water, Southern Water, and Wessex Water are among five companies including Anglian Water and Northumbrian Water who argued that Ofwat's original decision left them unable to meet the regulatory requirements set out for them.
An independent group of experts appointed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Anglian and Northumbrian should be allowed to increase their bills by a further 1%, Southern by 3%, South East by 4% and Wessex by 5%.
The CMA said a provisional decision allowed for 21%, or an additional £556 million in revenue, of the total £2.7 billion the five firms requested.
Kirstin Baker, who chaired the independent group of experts appointed by the CMA to consider the price controls, said: "We've found that water companies' requests for significant bill increases, on top of those allowed by Ofwat, are largely unjustified.
"We understand the real pressure on household budgets and have worked to keep increases to a minimum, while still ensuring there is funding to deliver essential improvements at reasonable cost."