Severn Trent pledges more support for households as it battles sewer spillages
Water supply company Severn Trent has set up an affordability scheme worth £30m to support an extra 100,000 customers, with inflation driving up household bills and putting pressure on millions of Brits.
The UK-based company supplies more than eight million customers across the country, and has so far supported 215,000 customers with their water bill through a social tariff – allowing them to reduce it by up to 90 per cent.
Severn Trent made the announcement alongside its headline results for the full-year which included a 6.4 per cent spike in group turnover this year, as consumption across businesses and industries returns to pre-pandemic levels.
Profit before interest and tax had risen to £506m, up £36m (7.5 per cent) on the year before.
It also has revealed property profits of £13.2m – taking the overall total to £50m since 2017, halfway to its ten-year target of £100m by 2027.
Chief executive Liv Garfield said: “As cost of living pressures continue, we’re acting now to support people struggling to pay their bills. Our customers have the second lowest combined bill in the UK at around £1 per day but we know that for some, paying their bill is a challenge. I’m pleased to announce today that we will be helping a further 100,000 people to reduce their water bill by up to 90 per cent, part of our plan to help end water poverty in our region.”
The company also revealed it was working on reducing spills from storm overflows and sewage treatment works to an average of 20 a year by 2025.
Last year, it was fined £1.5m last December for illegal sewage discharges from its wastewater treatment plants in Worcestershire.