This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42336197

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ofwat pledges lower water bills England and Wales Ofwat pledges lower water bills England and Wales
(35 minutes later)
Household water bills in England and Wales will fall by between £15 and £25 a year from 2020 to 2025, the regulator Ofwat has pledged.Household water bills in England and Wales will fall by between £15 and £25 a year from 2020 to 2025, the regulator Ofwat has pledged.
A forthcoming price review will give water companies less room to charge customers based on the costs of raising debt or equity, the regulator said. A forthcoming price review will give water companies less wiggle room to recover the costs of debt and equity from customers, the regulator said.
Ofwat was criticised by an influential government committee in 2016 for overestimating water firms' costs.Ofwat was criticised by an influential government committee in 2016 for overestimating water firms' costs.
The companies are allowed to add the cost of inflation to bills.The companies are allowed to add the cost of inflation to bills.
Since privatisation in 1989, water bills have risen above inflation by about 40%, leading to a debate about whether privatisation works for that industry.
But Ofwat said consumers could look forward to a real terms fall in water bills and improved services.
The regulator's chief executive, Cathryn Ross, told the BBC: "We have an early view on the financing costs that we're going to enable companies to recover from their customers.
"That's the biggest single driver of the bill. Financing costs are about a third of the average bill."
She said those financing costs for water companies had come down from 3.74% in 2014 to 2.4% now, and that difference can be passed on to customers.
The final Ofwat price review will be published in 2019.