Londoners told: Use less water or face a rise in your bills

 
A Thames Water engineer at work FILE IMAGE

Londoners face big increases in water bills unless they drastically cut consumption, Thames Water announced today.

The company said it will force every household to install an electricity-style meter measuring the amount of water used. It will mean higher bills for half of all homes if the same volume of water is used with families hardest hit.

Compulsory metering could mean a family-of-six with high water usage paying £637 a year, almost twice the current average. Thames, which made hefty profits last year, insisted that compulsory metering was vital to stop London running out of water. “Smart meters” connected to a wireless network would encourage people to monitor and cut back on “wasteful” forms of use such as power showers and garden sprinklers, it added.

MPs condemned the plan as another blow to cash-strapped households which could lead to children being sent to school without washing.

Shadow London minister Sadiq Khan said: “Thames Water are posting huge profits at the same time as hiking bills for the poorest Londoners and this is simply unacceptable. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and water companies should be doing everything possible to keep bills down.”

Sarah Teather, Liberal Democrat MP for Brent Central, said: “This will come as an enormous blow to many families across London.”

More than two thirds of Londoners pay a flat rate for their water based on the rateable value of their home with around a third already on a meter. The average Thames Water bill is £354, the second lowest in England and Wales. A family of four who have daily baths, use a washing machine every day and regularly use a sprinkler or hose will see bills rise to nearly £500 under the scheme which aims to cut Londoners’ water consumption by 12 per cent.

Even a family of five who take short showers instead of baths, are out of the house most of the day, and use a washing machine occasionally, will face a bill of £404 a year.

Thames Water’s Richard Aylard said smart meters were the “best value solution” to bridge the gap between supply and demand.

“People in London use on average 10 per cent more water than elsewhere in the country. ” Thames Water said it would offer “financial support and guidance” to families struggling to cope with the extra costs and a range of measures to help bring customers’ bills down, including fitting free water-saving devices.

The scheme will be rolled out across borough by borough, starting in Bexley next year. Thames, which supplies 14 million customers in London and the Thames Valley, said it was aiming to have all homes switched to a meter by 2030.

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