Thousands of households in one part of the UK will get an automatic discount on their water bills this year as millions more face a £123 hike.
Around 60,000 Yorkshire Water customers on the utility’s Water Support social tariff will get a reduction in their 2025/26 bill.
The Water Support tariff is a bill cap scheme for households on low income below £19,000 with an annual water bill of more than £364.
The tariff caps annual water charges at a set amount, depending on a customer’s individual circumstances, and is available to both metered and unmetered homes.
The average water bill for households in Yorkshire who aren’t on the Water Support tariff will rise by £135 (28.9%) in 2025/26 – amounting to around £11 extra per month.
The increase in bills is to help fund an £8.3 billion investment programme over the next five years to upgrade wastewater treatment works to reduce the amount of pollution in our rivers and seas.
Angie Markham-Nock, affordability strategy manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “The next five years are really important for us, for the environment, and for our customers, as we deliver an £8.3bn investment programme to help us meet expectations and regulatory requirements.
“We know that some of our customers are struggling with their bills, and will find increases to bills unmanageable, and this is why we’ve built additional financial support into our plans.”
Households in Yorkshire that are already eligible for the Water Support scheme will receive the discount on their bill automatically and don’t need to apply.
If you are on a low income and think you might be eligible, you can apply online via the YorkshireWater website or by calling 0345 129 9299.
Yorkshire Water also offers another bill reduction tariff – Water Sure – which caps bills at the average amount for those who have a water meter, claim income-based benefits or Universal Credit and need to use extra water.
There are also three other schemes available to customers to help pay off water bill debts: Resolve, Community Trust, and Direct Support. Yorkshire Water says more than £375 million will be delivered in bill reductions and debt support between 2025 and 2030 for those who need it.
Ms Markham-Nock adds: “We would strongly encourage anybody who feels that they will be unable to manage the upcoming bill increases to take a look at the financial support schemes we have available on our website and get in touch with us, so that we can open the conversation and see what we can do for them.”
