Price hike plans by Southern Water are under fire from Portsmouth city councillors

Councillor Leo Madden has proposed a motion for the upcoming full council meeting, criticising the utility company’s plan to finance both its “environmental cleanup program and shareholder payouts”. It notes that Southern Water has “advanced” plans to increase domestic water bills for customers both supplied by the company and receiving water waste services from it by 55 per cent, adding: “Customers in the area covered by Southern Water should not be penalised because of Southern Water’s long-term mismanagement and incompetence”.

It suggests that Southern Water should invest in its network instead of burdening customers with the responsibility of shareholders. It alleges that the company has a long history of “misreporting” its performance, which has been fined “not only by Ofwat but by courts for polluting our waters”. The motion calls for party leaders to write a letter to Steve Barclay, secretary of state for the environment, and to the chief executive of Southern Water demanding a freeze on bills.

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In response, a Southern Water spokesperson said the quoted figure of 55 per cent is inaccurate for Portsmouth customers, who only pay the company for wastewater services. Portsmouth Water manages water supply for the city. The spokesperson added that Portsmouth customers can expect to see their average bills increase by £85 per year, some 27 per cent, between 2025 and 2030.

“In the autumn, we submitted our plans for the period 2025 – 2030 to our regulator – an ambitious approach that will deliver major improvements in water resilience, wastewater treatment, and customer service, as well as enhancement and protection of our precious environment. To deliver this major step forward, our customer bills will increase, but we are working hard to balance this with what is acceptable to our communities.

“For those in need of help, we are also extending our social tariff to support 50 per cent more customers than previously, meaning even more households will get up to 45 per cent off their bills, while we are upping our hardship fund fourfold, and increasing our Priority Services Register too. Contrary to reports, we have paid no external dividends to shareholders since 2017.”