With water bills across England and Wales set to rise in April 2025, the UK water industry faces mounting pressure to balance financial sustainability with public trust. In this blog, we explore the reasons behind the increase and how personalised engagement, Advizzo’s way, can help utilities turn a difficult rate hike into an opportunity to build trust and empower customers to reduce their water consumption.
Understanding the water bill increase
The average water bill increase is projected to be 26% (or approximately £10 a month), for the 2025/26 billing period. However, regional variations will be significant. Southern Water customers face a 47% increase, while Hafren Dyfrdwy and South West Water bills will rise by 32%. Thames Water customers have been warned they face a 31% hike and Yorkshire Water is raising bills by 29%.
Why are water bills rising?
According to Ofwat the increases are partly to fund a £104 billion investment in the UK water sector to deliver substantial and long-term improvements for customers and the environment” including:
- Infrastructure upgrades – Replacing ageing pipes, reducing leaks, and expanding capacity with new reservoirs.
- Climate change adaptation – Ensuring resilience against droughts and extreme weather events.
- Leakage reduction and environmental compliance – Meeting stricter regulations and addressing public concerns over water management.
- Operational costs – Rising energy, maintenance, and labour costs contribute to higher service expenses.
The challenge for customers and water companies
The challenge for customers is that they are locked-in to using the water company that provides for their area, with no option to switch if they are unhappy. In a survey of 9,500 households carried out by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), found that:
- 18% were already struggling with their bills.
- 40% said they would find increases difficult to afford.
- Of those, 54% planned to cut back on non-essentials, 43% intended to use less water, and 38% would reduce spending on food and other essentials.
While 75% of surveyed households initially supported their water companies’ investment plans, support dropped to 58% when reminded of the associated bill increases.1
With further hikes expected over the next five years, water companies must do more to support struggling households—not only to protect vulnerable customers but to build trust and ensure customers understand and accept the increases.
How Advizzo can help
The key to trust-building is ensuring customers see the rate increase as fair and justified. Advizzo helps water companies communicate personalised messages that directly connect each customer’s bill to the specific improvements happening in their area.
How our personalisation engine works:
- Visualising water usage trends – Instead of simply announcing a rate increase, we can provide insights into each customer’s individual household consumption. Customers who see their personal water usage data will better understand the impact of pricing changes.
- Explaining the link between efficiency and costs – Customers who see how much water they are using and wasting through leaks or inefficient habits, will be more motivated to adjust their behaviour. Providing comparisons with similar households with messages such as “Your water use is 20% higher than similar homes” in your area, can nudge them toward conservation. Read more about the behavioural science theory of ‘nudging’ in our blog – Have you tried the nudge theory to reduce water consumption?
- Offering ways to reduce their bills – Alongside the rate increase, we can give customers control over their spending with tailored water-saving tips, for example, “Your household could save £50 per year by reducing shower time by just 2 minutes”, or “Fixing leaks could reduce your monthly bill by 10%.”
- Acknowledging and rewarding efficient users – For customers who already use water efficiently, we can also help acknowledge their efforts, with encouraging messages such as “You’re using 30% less water than your neighborhood average – great job!” or “Good news – even with the new rates, your efficient usage means your bill will remain lower than average.”
By turning customer data into actionable insights, Advizzo transforms a difficult message into an opportunity for engagement.
Transforming communications: Before and after
- Instead of: “Water rates are increasing by 10% this year.”
- Try: “Water rates are increasing to fund £2 million in leak detection projects in your area. Check for leaks to help lower your bill. Here’s how…”
- Instead of: “New rates take effect in April.”
- Try: “Your estimated new bill: £XX. But with a few small changes, you could keep costs low. Explore your personalised savings plan here!”
Final thoughts: Turning rate increases into customer engagement
Water companies don’t have to face backlash over bill increases. By using AI-driven messaging and behavioural science, Advizzo helps utilities connect cost increases to tangible benefits, empower customers to improve efficiency, and foster trust through transparency.
How are you communicating the rate increases?
Do your customers fully understand why their bills are rising? Get in touch today to learn how quickly we can implement a bespoke customer engagement solution. Our ‘plug-and-play’ platform is a proven OPEX cost solution, ready to roll out within weeks.
Contact us today to find out more!
Suggested further reading:
Blog – Build Versus Buy – why buying Advizzo’s off-the-shelf solution is a no brainer!
Blog – How Advizzo provides proactive support for vulnerable customers
Blog – Have you tried the nudge theory to reduce water consumption?
Source ref:
1 BBC News – Warning millions will struggle to pay water bill rises