CCWater publishes Annual Review for England and Wales 2014/15

Putting customers at the heart of the water industry

Today we are delighted to publish our Annual Review for England and Wales 2014/15 (pdf).

The review explains what we have achieved for customers during a challenging 12 months for the water industry, dominated by the conclusion of the 2014 Price Review.

Our achievements included:

• Working with the water industry to deliver lower bills over the next five years and more investment in the things that matter most to customers.
• Helping water companies reduce customer complaints to their lowest level since we were formed in 2005.
• Returning almost £2.3 million in compensation and rebates to customers –including nearly £720,000 in the last year for business customers.
• Helping a further nine water companies launch social tariffs to extend support to customers who are low incomes.

Very little of what we achieved would have been possible without a willingness from the water industry to listen and act on their customers’ views. This approach resulted in the most customer-driven price-setting process since privatisation 25 years ago.

Our review begins with a foreword from Dame Yve Buckland whom I succeeded as CCWater Chair on April 1, 2015. Yve has been a formidable consumer champion and key figure in shifting the focus of water companies onto delivering better value for money and the services customers rightly expect.

But as CCWater moves into a new era under my chairmanship it is clear considerable challenges remain to ensure every customer receives reliable, high-quality water and sewerage services they can afford.

The 2014 Price Review has provided us with the platform to achieve this – if we all remain committed to keeping customers at the heart of the water industry.

Alan Lovell
CCWater Chair (from April 2015)