Yorkshire Water customers to get lower bills after company fined for under performing

Millions of people across Yorkshire will face lower water bills next year after water suppliers were fined by industry regulator Ofwat.

Twelve companies, including Yorkshire Water, were together fined £114m for missing key targets on leaks, pollution, and customer service.

Yorkshire Water was hit with a £19.85m penalty.

It means 5.7 million customers will see their bills go up by less over 2024 and 2025.

Yorkshire Water confirmed it had not met some of its commitments and, as a result, there would be "an adjustment" to bills from April next year.

Ofwat judges the performance of water companies in England and Wales each year against the "stretching" targets they set in 2019 for a five-year period until 2025.

It said a dozen firms will have to return around £193m to customers, partially offset by five firms charging about £123m more, resulting in a net total of £70m being paid out.

Of the companies facing fines, Thames Water faces paying out the most - nearly £74m - followed by Anglian Water with more than £27m.

However, according to Ofwat, some companies will be able to charge customers more after improving their performances.

Severn Trent Water will be allowed to add £89m to the bills of the 4.6 million customers it serves from next year, and United Utilities can charge more than £25m.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: "Despite last year being a challenging one, we made some great improvements in reducing leakage and pollution incidents, which we know are key areas that our customers care about.

"Whilst overall improvements take time, we are committed to doing more of what our customers expect and will continue to work closely with Ofwat on our plans.

"As a result of not meeting some of our commitments, there will be an adjustment to bills from April next year."

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