UNAFFORDABLE water price hikes proposed by Ofwat show the embattled water regulator is failing to protect vulnerable customers, the GMB said today.

The union said bill payers should not be forced to bail out the sector’s fat cat bosses after two in five households in England and Wales warned they will struggle to afford increased bills proposed by Ofwat.

A survey of 9,500 households in August and September for the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) found that 40 per cent of water customers would find proposed changes to their bill difficult to afford.

This is more than double the 18 per cent who say they have difficulty paying their current bill.

In Wales, concerns were even more acute with 48 per cent of customers saying they would find the planned rises difficult to afford.

CCW chief executive Mike Keil said: “These bill increases would put an intolerable strain on the finances of millions of households and only a single social tariff can provide the safety net that is needed to ensure water is affordable for everyone.

“Customers need to see evidence their money is being well spent, otherwise fractured trust in the water sector will never be repaired.”

GMB national officer Gary Carter said: “Bill payers are right to be sceptical about how their money will be spent, water companies have already wasted billions.

“For years, water companies have run up debt, while paying out big bonuses and dividends to shareholders rather than investing to leaks and reduce sewage spills. 

“Water company proposals to support vulnerable customers are a drop in the ocean: Ofwat needs to get water companies to provide more support. 

“Ofwat needs to hold water companies to account and the government must fundamentally reform the water sector, which is broken.

“The public shouldn’t have to pay for years of neglect — it’s time the shareholders put their own money in.”

Ofwat’s draft decisions allow water companies to increase bills by an average of 21 per cent, before inflation is added, over the next five years.

It is due to make a final decision on the proposed bill increases on December 19. They would take effect from April 2025.

Water UK said: “We urgently need investment in our water and sewage infrastructure. 

“However, we understand increasing bills is never welcome.”