Scottish Water could hike prices further, boss says

Scottish Water had already increased charges in 2022 and 2023

An 8.8% rise in water bills this April could be followed by future hikes in the coming years, Scottish Water's chief executive has warned.

Alex Plant said the scale of the challenge facing the publicly-owned company meant further investment would be needed.

However, he denied hikes have been agreed for 2025 and 2026, stressing that increases are decided on annually.

Rates had already risen by 5% in 2023 and by 4.2% in 2022.

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Asked on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme if Scots should be planning for rates increases in the coming years, Mr Plant pointed out that in 2021 the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, an independent regulator, had recommended above-inflation rises until 2027.

He said that changes to rates in 2022 and 2023 had been reduced due to the pandemic and associated cost of living pressures.

Asked whether people should be planning for price hikes, Mr Plant said: "If you look at the scale of the challenge in front of us, yes that is the general sense - we're going to have to, as a nation, find ways in which we continue to invest at a greater rate than we have been thus far.

"So that is the kind of future we are facing."

Water charges are collected along with council tax in Scotland meaning bills will rise in April despite the Scottish government's council tax freeze.

The size of the water bills varies with council tax bands, but Scottish Water said the average household would see an increase of £35.95 a year, or about 70p per week.

Climate change concerns

Mr Plant said Scottish Water's infrastructure, some of which was built in the Victorian era, was not designed to withstand "volatility" in the weather caused by climate change.

He cited recent flooding, as well as droughts.

He said: "This is all about putting the investment in place that can mean we can keep providing resilient services to customers across the country."

The chief executive said last year's 5% increase had been below inflation.

He added: "At some point you can't keep kicking the can down the road because otherwise services suffer and you'll be leaving future generations having to pick up the tab for the investment we should be making now."

Mr Plant said decisions about rates were made annually and "whatever circumstances may prevail at the time would be taken into account by the board".