e-mail is issued by Southern Water Services Limited,

I am writing to update you on today's announcement of our household bills for 2019/20.

Our typical combined bill is set to fall in real terms yet again, taking into account inflation. In the coming year, our average annual bill covering both water and wastewater services is expected to be £438. That's an increase of £4, or 1 percent, on the previous twelve months, and works out as a daily cost of £1.20. The money we receive via customer bills covers the day-to-day running costs of supplying people with high-quality drinking water and taking away and treating their wastewater. In addition, the money is funding significant ongoing investment to deliver a wide range of improvements, with £490 million set to be spent in 2018/19 and a further £396 million to follow by April 2020. This includes the renewal and expansion of our networks of water mains and sewers, along with schemes to help prevent flooding, protect water supplies, reduce leakage, improve water quality, safeguard the environment and enhance wastewater treatment.

Looking beyond 2020, we are poised to embark on our largest ever investment programme, with plans to spend £4 billion in the five years to 2025, compared to a total of £3.2 billion from 2015-20. Crucially, our new programme includes our biggest-ever spend on environmental improvements, something our customers told us is extremely important for them. Our customers also said they want us to deliver high quality, value for money services. So, we are really pleased to say we will do all this while ensuring bills continue to drop in real terms. In fact, over the course of our new five-year plan, before inflation, bills will come down by more than 3 per cent. Save water, save energy, save money With 90 per cent of our customers now on a water meter, households only pay for what they use. This means they can save money on bills by taking simple steps to use less water. Even non-metered households can save money by cutting water use as 30 per cent of energy used in a typical home is used to heat water. So, by saving water, customers can reduce their energy bills and help the environment.

We provide a wide variety of free advice and support on how people can save water, energy and money. This includes free water-efficiency home visits for eligible homes, with further details available online at www.southernwater.co.uk/savewater. We also fully recognise that some customers face real financial difficulties, so we have a dedicated team to provide tailored support to people.

Again, guidance can be found on our website at www.southernwater.co.uk/difficulty-paying-your-bill. I trust the above has been helpful and informative, but please do let me know of any queries or comments you may have.

With best regards,

Sarah Sarah Feasey
Stakeholder Engagement Manager (Kent)
T. 01634 824201 | M. 07341074234
www.southernwater.co.uk