Your bill breakdown
Your overall water and wastewater bill is predominantly made up of Wholesale charges which equates to about 90% of your bill, depending on how much water you use. Wholesale tariffs (charges) are approved by the regulator, Ofwat, and are fixed by the Wholesaler in your local area. This means you’ll pay the same wholesale charges, regardless of your water retailer.
Wholesalers review and change their charges annually. You’ll be able to find a list of charges for 2024/25 published on your local Wholesaler’s website.
Bill adjustments
When Wholesalers renew their charges, we also review and update our charges and publish these on our website, so that you always know what your Wholesale and Retail charges are for the coming year. The next update to the charges you pay comes into effect on 1st April 2024.
Most customers in the Anglian and Northumbrian regions will see increases this year. These are partly down to changes made by the Wholesaler, as well as the Ofwat requirements for Retail charges.
If you aren’t sure which tariff your business is currently on, please check your latest bill. Or, if you’d like to discuss your tariff with us, please get in touch.
Changes we wanted to make you aware of
We want to make our customers aware of some of the main changes which will come into place from April 2024 that could affect your bill. Please click on your Wholesale region below to see the changes that will apply to your business.
Changes to meter charge bands
As part of your water bill, you receive a charge dependent on the size of your water meter and the charge band it fits into. This year, Northumbrian Water has combined some of their meter charge bands, reducing the number of bands from six to four. This may mean you move bands and see a reduction in the amount you’ll pay. For example, if you have a 25mm meter you’ll move from Band 2 to Band 1.
If you have a meter size which isn’t changing bands, you’ll see a 3.9% increase in the amount you’ll pay.
You can see the charges for all meter sizes in the table below:
Price changes
Your Wholesale charges make up the majority of your water bill and this year Northumbrian Water has increased their prices. Your new charges will depend on the amount of water you use each year.
Our examples apply to customers who aren’t on a commercial contract and are on the most common drainage bands.
If this does not apply to you, you can find the drainage charges for all other bands here, under Business Rates.
Customer using under 500m3 per year
Your bill will increase by 12.0% to 14.9% depending on your water usage (drainage band 1) and if you use less than 500m3 a year. For example, if you use 100m3 a year, your bill increases by £66.30 from £505.62 to £571.92.
Customer using over 500m3 per year
Your bill will increase by 11.1% to 11.5% depending on your water usage (drainage band 1) and if you’re on a Standard tariff. For example, if you use 1,400m3 your bill increases by £451.32 from £ 3,985.66 to £ 4,436.98.
Customers on a Focus 20 Tariff
Your bill will increase by circa 11.4%. For example, if you use 30,000m3 (drainage band 4), your bill increases by £ 9,490 from £ 83,367 to £ 92,857.
You’ll see the new rates on the bill you receive after 1 April 2024.
Trade Effluent Standard Strength
- Northumbrian Water will reduce their Standard Biological Strength from 280mg/l to 275mg/l.
This change may result in an increase in the amount you get charged.
Changes to meter charge bands
As part of your water bill, you receive a charge dependent on the size of your water meter and the charge band it fits into. This year, Northumbrian Water has combined some of their meter charge bands, reducing the number of bands from six to four. This may mean you move bands and see a reduction in the amount you’ll pay. For example, if you have a 25mm meter you’ll move from Band 2 to Band 1.
If you have a meter size which isn’t changing bands, you’ll see a 3.9% increase in the amount you’ll pay.
You can see the charges for all meter sizes in the table below:
Price changes
Your Wholesale charges make up the majority of your water bill and this year Northumbrian Water has increased their prices. Your new charges will depend on the amount of water you use each year.
Our examples apply to customers who aren’t on a commercial contract and are on the most common drainage bands.
If this does not apply to you, you can find the drainage charges for all other bands here, under Business Rates.
Customer using under 500m3 per year
Your bill will increase by circa 11%. For example, if you use 100m3 a year, your water bill increases by £27.13 from £246.80 to £273.93.
Customer using over 500m3 per year
Your bill will increase by circa 11%. For example, if you use 1,400m3 your bill increases by £263.47 from £2,409.96 to £2,673.43.
Customers on a Focus 20 Tariff
Your bill will increase by 11%. For example, if you use 30,000m3, your water bill increases by £5,569 from £50,825 to £56,393.
You will see your new water rates on the bill you receive after 1 April 2024.
You’ll need to look at your waste-water service provider’s website to see how their charges are changing.
Trade Effluent Standard Strength
Anglian Water will increase their Standard Biological Strength from 633 to 675 mg/l.
This change may result in a reduction in the amount you get charged.
They will also decrease their Standard Sludge Strength from 416 to 415 mg/l.
This change may result in an increase in the amount you get charged.
Price changes
Your Wholesale charges make up the majority of your water bill and this year Anglian Water has increased their prices. Your new charges will depend on the amount of water you use each year.
Our examples apply to customers who aren’t on a commercial contract and are on the most common drainage bands.
If this does not apply to you, you can find the drainage charges for all other bands here, under Business Rates.
Customers using under 500m3 per year on Streamline Green
Your bill will increase by 4.4% to 8.5% depending on your water usage. For example, if you use 100m3 your bill increases by £40.80 from £557.75 to £598.54.
Customers using over 500m3 per year on Streamline Orange
Your bill will increase by 9.2%. For example, if you use 1,400m3 your bill increases by £477 from £5,200 to £5,677.
You will see your new water rates on the bill you receive after 1 April 2024.
Price changes
Your Wholesale charges make up the majority of your water bill and this year Anglian Water has increased their prices. Your new charges will depend on the amount of water you use each year.
Our examples apply to customers who aren’t on a commercial contract and are on the most common drainage bands.
If this does not apply to you, you can find the drainage charges for all other bands here, under Business Rates.
Customer using under 500m3 per year
Your water bill will increase by 4.4% to 5.4% depending on your usage. For example, if you use 100m3 your water bill increases by £8.74 from £185.61 to £194.35.
Customer using over 500m3 per year
Your bill will increase by 4.4%. For example, if you use 1,400m3 your bill increases by £74.10 from £1,681.17 to £1,755.27.
You’ll see your new rates on the bill you receive after 1 April 2024.
Challenging times
We understand that these are challenging times for many businesses and any increases in bills, whether large or small, are unwelcome.
If your business is struggling to keep up with your bills, please get in touch with us as soon as possible to discuss your options.
