Welsh Water says working customers struggling to get by will need help to pay bills

Peter Perry said that Welsh Water already helps around 144,000 customers who rely on benefits. Credit: PA Images.

Welsh Water will begin offering support to people who are in work but struggling to pay their water bills for the first time ever, its chief executive has said.

Peter Perry told a House of Lords Committeet that from January, the firm will start offering lower prices to people “who are working but just not getting by.”The company already helps around 144,000 customers who rely on benefits.

Mr Perry said that Dŵr Cymru’s social tariff, which reduces bills by about half, is already “one of the largest by proportion.”

But he added that, “What we're finding currently is the there is an emerging group in society that we need to help and it's not a very nice term, but it's the ‘working poor’ and we're looking to trial in in January, the idea of supporting those people who have negative budgets, who effectively are the people who would turn up to a food bank, and we will put them on to a reduced tariff as well.”

Mr Perry and two other Chief Executives of water companies were being questioned by members of the Lords Industry and Regulators Committee which is looking into the way water suppliers are run and regulated. 

They were challenged about sewage discharges which have led to serious concerns in recent months. 

Peter Perry said that, while Welsh Water takes the discharges, known as ‘storm overflows’ seriously, the focus here in Wales is on dealing with the problems of nutrients polluting rivers.

He told the committee that “From our perspective, there is definitely more to do in terms of the outcry about storm overflows [but] we've carried out quite a bit of research with our regulators in Wales and they are not the main form of pollution in in our part of the UK.

“That said, we certainly recognise that our customers and society at large [are] concerned about this and we're investing in it. 

“The real issue in Wales is nutrients and the First Minister called water companies and regulators together this summer so that we could focus on tackling nutrient pollution as the main issue.”