Thames Water launches first-of-its-kind scheme to automatically cut water bills for low-income households across London
- Thames Water has started identifying customers who need financial support to automatically enrol them on its social tariff schemes under a new initiative
- The UK’s largest water and wastewater company has agreed partnerships with 17 Borough Councils in London, in association with Policy in Practice, to ensure customers receive the financial assistance that they are entitled to – without them even needing to apply
- It will provide more than £10 million in financial assistance to an estimated 33,000 households under Thames Water’s WaterHelp, WaterSure and Extra Support Scheme programmes
Londoners caught in the cost-of-living crisis will have their water bills cut automatically under a pioneering new partnership between Thames Water, 17 London Borough Councils and data analytics company Policy in Practice.
Thames Water launched the scheme – the first of its kind in the UK water industry – to ensure customers in financial difficulty automatically receive the assistance they are entitled to, even if they are unaware of their eligibility. This is part of Thames Water’s ambition to increase the support of customers in need of financial assistance.
After a successful pilot in Wandsworth and Richmond Upon Thames earlier this year, Thames Water is now rolling out the scheme across a further 15 London boroughs. Almost 15,500 households have already been enrolled in Thames Water’s WaterHelp scheme to receive financial support so far. It is expected that across the 17 boroughs about 33,000 struggling households will save on average more than £300 – equalling more than £10 million a year in total.
Under innovative data sharing agreements, Thames Water, the Borough Councils and Policy in Practice can identify customers whose water bills exceed five per cent of their equivalised net income and enrol them automatically into its WaterHelp scheme. Under WaterHelp, customers will have their bills cut by 50 per cent.
Thames Water, the Borough Councils and Policy in Practice are also identifying other customers who should be on its WaterSure social tariff, or who are eligible for Extra Support Scheme assistance of up to £700.
Which Borough Councils are involved?
Thames Water is rolling out the scheme in:
- Richmond Upon Thames (original pilot)
- Camden
- Wandsworth (original pilot)
- Hackney
- Tower Hamlets
- Hammersmith & Fulham
- Haringey
- Enfield
- Lambeth
- Kensington & Chelsea
- Islington
- Westminster
- Lewisham
- Ealing
- Brent
- Greenwich
- Southwark
How does the automated scheme work?
The key aim is to ensure customers who are either unaware of Thames Water’s affordability schemes and their eligibility, unable to apply or are reluctant to seek help will receive the financial assistance they are entitled to.
Customers do not need to be in arrears to be eligible for financial assistance, however for this auto-enrolment scheme Thames Water is identifying households who are in arrears. In partnership with the Borough Councils and using the Policy in Practice platform, an assessment based on the data held by those councils and the Department of Work and Pensions is made as to whether those households are eligible for financial assistance. Customers will then be automatically enrolled for either WaterHelp, WaterSure or Extra Support Scheme help.
Customers whose water bill is more than five per cent of their equivalised net income will qualify for WaterHelp, cutting their bill in half.
The criteria for the WaterSure social tariff are a household with a water meter where someone is receiving means-tested benefit and either has a medical condition that requires extra water or three or more children under the age of 19 living at the property also making them eligible for Child Benefit. Their bills are capped at the average of what other customers pay.
The majority of customers helped in this scheme are expected to qualify for WaterHelp assistance rather than WaterSure.
Nina White, Director of Income at Thames Water, said: “Our purpose is to deliver life’s essential service and we are determined to support those customers who are struggling to pay their bills. This partnership with the local authorities and Policy in Practice allows us to reach thousands of customers who previously may have been unaware that our WaterHelp scheme can help them. We’re looking forward to the rollout extending to more boroughs across London, with customers enrolled on the scheme automatically if eligible.”
Deven Ghelani, from Policy in Practice, said: “With rising water bills putting more pressure on struggling households, this scheme delivers real help to households who need it most by automatically reducing their costs. Thames Water is leading the way as the first water company to offer automatic enrolment onto a social tariff, worth millions of pounds, across London. At Policy in Practice, we want to bring more water companies and local authorities together by connecting data to make life easier for them and their residents."
Simon Hogg, Wandsworth Council Leader, said: “It’s important that residents receive the help they are entitled to. Over 1,000 households in Wandsworth will now automatically see cheaper water bills, offering a crucial lifeline to those facing economic hardship and struggling with rising bills.”
This expansion of the automatic enrolment scheme follows a pilot earlier this year in Wandsworth and Richmond Upon Thames. More than 1,800 households received a total of £650,000 in financial support.
Across its region, Thames Water supported more than 400,000 households with its social tariff and provided £116 million-worth of customer assistance in 2024/25.
While it is rolling out the scheme in London, Thames Water continues to encourage any customers from across its region who think they are eligible for financial support to visit the financial assistance section of its website. Customers can fill in an online assessment.