Frequently asked charges questions

Our water industry regulator, Ofwat, finished their industry-wide price review for 2024. They reviewed our business plan for 2025 to 2030 and issued a final determination. It set the level of revenue we can recover from our customers. We used this as the basis for our charges over the upcoming charging year.

All water companies have to follow Ofwat’s charging rules when setting their prices. Ofwat no longer specifically approves the charges each water company sets.

The bill figures Ofwat published didn’t include the impact of inflation. It was an average of the price rises across all our customers. This included those who may move onto our social tariff and get a discount on their bill. These average bill increases didn’t reflect the actual increase to your bills. 

We used a number that better reflects the price increase that you will see on your bills. This is known as a ‘typical’ bill increase. The increase includes inflation and a cross-subsidy that pays to fund social tariff. Typical bill increases assume that you’re staying on the same tariff from one year to the next. It also assumes you don't change the amount of water you use.

No, our price rises for 2025-26 will not change. The first year of the new five-year cycle 2025-2030 will carry on as planned. We've committed to achieving a lot in the first year.

Your new charges started on 1 April 2025. 

If you don’t have a water meter, your should have received your bill between February and March.

For water meter customers, you’ll start seeing changes to your next bill now.

If you pay by payment plan, your instalments may have already gone up based on our new prices. We usually check and adjust your payments. This is in line with how much water you’ve used and what we think you’ll use for the year ahead. We'll now reassess your plan every six months instead. This will make sure bills are as accurate as possible and that we’re not under or overcharging you.

Bills for typical water and wastewater customers have increased by £17 per month. This is on average for 2025-26.

Your increase may be higher or lower depending on whether you pay metered or unmetered charges. If you're on our assessed household customers tariff, your bill will depend on the number of bedrooms in your property or if you live alone.

This is primarily because of the existing typical bill values for each tariff type. Our underlying unit rates for variable charges have increased by the same percentage. This applies across each tariff type. Our fixed charges have increased consistently across all tariff types.

Percentage increases for metered and assessed household customers is higher than for unmetered.

No, different increases have been applied to different parts of the bill. Our unit rates for variable charges have generally increased by the same percentage. This applies across each tariff type. There are different rate increases for our water services and for wastewater services. Fixed charges have increased by a higher percentage than variable ‘unit rate’ charges.

The percentage increases also vary for different tariffs and service types. This is so that our charges are more consistent for all customers without a meter. Find out more in our statement of significant change.

Fixed charges help cover the basic costs of providing your water and wastewater services. These include:

• Drainage - collecting and treating rainwater that runs off your home and nearby roads
• Customer services – like billing, meter reading, and running our contact centre

For the 2025-26 period:

• Our drainage service charges have gone up by 34.2%. This is the same increase as our unit rate for metered wastewater charges.
• The revenue allowance set by Ofwat for our customer service charges has increased by 66%. In addition, we've increased the support we give through our social tariff for customers who are struggling to pay. This is added to our customer service charges.

We didn’t make these decisions lightly. But we have a big job ahead to improve our services, and the extra funding helps us do that.

Because of these changes, the increase in our fixed charges is higher than the overall rise in a typical bill.

The new charges apply to everyone in our supply area.

We review our prices once a year. This year, our charges changed on 1 April 2025.

Ofwat set out in their Final Determination that prices are set to increase each year. We expect next year's price rise to be much lower and more in line with inflation.

The new charges are part of our five-year business plan. It sets ambitious goals based on a record level of investment. You can view our five-year plan in progress.

Over the past few years, we’ve done everything we can to avoid increasing our prices. We'll invest the money to improve in the areas you've told us matter most to you.

• Keep safe, high-quality drinking water flowing with fewer interruptions
• Fix leaky pipes and the aging mains network to reduce wasted water
• Invest in upgrading our sewage works
• Reduce pollution incidents and storm overflows
• Ready the water network for population growth and climate change

The changes we're making are part of our five-year plan. This sets out our ambitious goals to invest in and improve services for you.

We also have a range of projects that are helping to transform our network and protect the planet.

We’ve set goals to reduce pollution in our five-year plan. The plan is still under review, but we’re currently aiming for a 30% drop in pollution incidents by 2030.

But no matter what happens, reducing pollution is a huge priority for us moving forward. We know we must do more to look after our rivers and streams. We’re determined to reduce pollution, storm overflows and blockages. You can view our five-year plan in progress.

We haven't paid an external dividend since 2017, and we've committed to pay no external dividends before 2030. We're maximising investment to update our critical assets.

Ofwat has ruled executive bonuses cannot be paid from money collected from customers. This is unless our performance meets expectations.

The £3 billion liquidity extension will not impact our proposed increase of bills. This includes the next five years.

The debt extension is an interim funding solution while we stabilise the business. Our aim is to deliver an investable and financeable business plan. This liquidity extension allows us to continue investing for the future.

It's important to us to keep you updated with the investments we’re making. We do this through our website, direct customer communications, and to the media. The water sector is also highly regulated. Ofwat and the Environment Agency monitor the activities of all water companies in the UK.

If water companies not meet their targets set by Ofwat, they face penalties. This can reduce the revenue that the water company can recover through bills.

The Thames Water Board has made the decision to refer Thame Water’s Final Determination to the CMA. This is to protect your interests as well as the best interests of the environment and our business operations.

The decision was not made lightly. We need to enter the next regulatory period on a stronger footing. This will help us support growth, improve your service, protect the environment, and adapt to climate change.

On 18 March 2025, the Thames Water Board and Ofwat agreed that Ofwat will defer making the reference for a period of up to 18 weeks.

We’re contacting customers by email or letter to make sure the following is communicated:

• Why our prices have changed
• Where that money will be invested
• How we can help if you’re worried about affording your bill

If you don’t have a water meter yet, using one could help you take better control of your bill. With a water meter, you can track and pay for exactly how much water you use.

In some cases, it can help you save money. This is dependent on if we're able to fit a meter at your property.

We’re helping around 450,000 customers pay their bills. We’re here to help find the best solution for you.  You can view all the support schemes we offer on our financial support page.