The not-for-profit company says it has a wide range of financial support options that support people who may be struggling to afford their water bill.
Samantha James, Managing Director of Household Customer Services said: “Over the last 2 years, our customers have been feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, with energy prices more than doubling and higher fuel, housing costs and inflation squeezing the money they have available for essentials. According to research undertaken by National Energy Action (NEA) and YouGov, 26% of UK adults have struggled to afford to pay their energy bills in the past three months.
“At Welsh Water we have a range of financial support options available that helped support over 146,000 customers last year. I urge anyone who may be struggling to reach out to us and see how we can help, you’re certainly not alone.”
Financial support options available from Welsh Water include:
- The HelpU tariff, which helps low-income households on a means tested benefit by putting a cap on the amount they pay for their water.
- Cymuned, in partnership with Citizens Advice, Warm Wales and StepChange Debt Charity, which aims to help working households who are struggling to afford the essentials, like their water bill.
- Customer Assistance Fund debt support scheme, which is designed to help those in severe financial hardship to clear and get on top of their payments.
Bethan Davies is a single mum of five who recently got support with her water bill from Welsh Water. She said: “I was at an appointment at the Job Centre when an advisor said that someone from Welsh Water was there to help customers with their bill. Initially, because I knew I was in debt with my water bill, I was worried about speaking to someone from Welsh Water. Now, I wish I’d done it much sooner.
“Jody went through the options that could be available to me after looking at my income and said, ‘we can help you’. She helped my reduced my bill by £500, by setting me up on the HelpU tariff and helped make my payments more manageable so I can clear my debt. This will make a big difference to my family and I only wish I’d have spoken to Welsh Water sooner; they didn’t criticise and just wanted to help, I could have avoided a lot of stress.”
Samantha added: “We have a dedicated team ready to help. Please don’t suffer in silence, speak to us today.”
(Lead image: Welsh Water)
