£4m to cap Welsh Water bills for struggling households

An extra £4m has been pledged to cap water bills for households with a total annual income of £15,000 or less.

From April 2017, householders who apply and are accepted on Welsh Water's HelpU tariff will have bills capped at £190 per year.

It follows a consultation on how the company's surplus should be used.

The not-for-profit firm said it helps about 63,000 customers struggling with water bills, and plans to increase this to 100,000 or more by 2020.

It comes on top of £340m going on capital projects this financial year and a £32m investment announced in June 2016 as a result of the company's not-for-profit ownership structure.

Welsh Water said the average household bill for 2017-18 will be £439, compared to £437 in 2016-2017.

Chief executive Chris Jones said: "Supporting our most vulnerable customers - along with pursuing those who could pay, but do not - benefits all our customers."