West Midlands water supplier promises to peg back customers' bills

The company boasts that it has "the lowest combined bills in the land", after delivering a below-inflation increase for customers for five consecutive years.

Despite holding down bills it saw turnover rise by 2.7 per cent to £947.6 million, and underlying pre-tax profit was up three per cent to £247.9 million in the six months to September 30.

Severn Trent is now waiting for water regulator Ofwat to give the final seal of approval for its draft business plan. Coming into force next April, the new scheme is aimed at continuing to pin back prices below inflation until 2020.

Chief executive Liv Garfield said: "I am pleased to report a good first half performance across the group.

"Our focus on customers continues. Our average combined bill is the lowest in the land and we are confident of maintaining the lowest bills for the next five years.

"We continue to develop our range of social tariffs and we have delivered further reductions in leakage and sewer flooding."

She added: "We are acutely aware that many of our customers are facing difficult times and we have kept our bill increases at or below inflation for five years running, as well as working hard to help customers who are struggling through our range of social tariffs.

"We are committed to introducing a new and enhanced social tariff scheme which will give discounts of up to 90 per cent on the average bill to qualifying customers and be administered by the Citizens Advice Bureau."

The water company also spent £247.9 million on handling pollution incidents, internal sewer flooding and on cutting leaks from its pipe network. It says it is on target to fix half of all leaks within 24 hours by the end of the financial year, in April.

Severn Trent supplies water and sewage services to 4.2 million homes and business across the Midlands and mid-Wales.

It also provides sewage services to homes in Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Staffordshire supplied by South Staffs Water.

Meanwhile, Severn Trent also confirmed plans announced last month to cut 500 jobs at the water company, which are mainly expected to go from its head office in Coventry.