Tapping into a water meter could bring your bills down

Tapping into a water meter could bring your bills down

Water metres, devices that regulator Ofwat claims can save the typical household 10 per cent on its bill, are surging in popularity as families struggle with soaring utility costs.

Water bills have risen almost 4 per cent in the past year, while the number of households in England and Wales with a water meter is up from 33 to 35 per cent. The idea has been seized upon by London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has just announced that he wants the meters to become compulsory in the capital. So should you switch or could you end up paying more?

The question is a hotter topic than you might think. Debate about the merits, or otherwise, of water meters rages on the internet, and Cash has received a number of emails from readers on the subject. On consumer revenge website Moneysavingexpert.com, there are thousands of postings on the subject.

'A friend of mine changed to a meter last year. As a family of four in the Thames water area, their bill increased £40 over the year so they went back to the annual bill,' says one. Another has had a different experience: 'Me and the other half saved almost half of our bill by going on a water meter. And she bathes every night.'

A standard unmetered household bill is based on a number of factors, but chief among these is the perceived rental value of the property - based on data from as far back as 1973 - known as the 'rateable value', or more commonly, 'water rates'. These outdated figures mean that some people.....continued below

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will be better off sticking with their unmetered bills, while others will benefit from paying based on their usage.

According to Ofwat, the average unmetered household bill is £347 a year, while the average metered bill for a customer using 60 cubic metres of water a year is £48 cheaper, at £299. The Consumer Council for Water watchdog says that, as a rule of thumb, people living alone or those who currently pay higher than average charges are most likely to benefit from a meter. It suggests that a single person living alone in a property on the average 'rateable' value could save around £100 a year by having a meter installed.

If you live in a property that has been built in the past eight years you should have a water meter already, because they became compulsory for new houses in 2000. Properties in areas which have been deemed by the government as being 'water scarce' or those that have a swimming pool or large pond may also have had compulsory meters connected. You can't get rid of these if you think it would be cheaper without.

Anyone else can get a meter for free from their water company except in rare circumstances when it can refuse to install one if it is unreasonably impractical or expensive to do so, such as a top-floor flat with complicated piping.

'If you think you would save money and for whatever reason can't get a meter, you should still contact your water company and see if they can put you on an assessed charge,' says Andy White, policy manager at the Consumer Council for Water. Each company will use different factors to assess the rate, including the type of property or the number of rooms and people in your house.