Bills likely to remain flat over next five years

This month we will reach another key milestone in the Ofwat price review to set the levels of water prices and investment in England and Wales over the next five years. Companies are committed to keeping customers' bills as low as possible in 2015-20.

Water companies have listened to their hard-pressed customers and understand the cost of living pressures they are under. Companies will provide even more help for struggling households through a wide range of measures, including social tariffs.

Returns to investors will be reduced to keep customers' bills down over this period. However, companies will continue their major investment programmes, worth more than £40 billion in 2015-2020, to maintain the high quality of drinking water and meet their extensive legal obligations and duties to protect the environment.