Bills down but still being paid, says water supplier United Utilities

United Utilities says it has not seen any increase in the proportion of bills not being paid during the pandemic.

The water utility, which serves more than seven million customers in the North West of England, said cash collection had stayed strong in the six months to the end of September.

“Current year cash collection (is) performing slightly ahead of collection rates to the same point last year,” it said.

Meanwhile its measure of household bad debt remained stable in the first half at 1.8%.

It expects revenue to reach between £1.75 billion and £1.8 billion in the full financial year, down from £1.86 billion a year earlier.

This is mainly because the customers used less water during the period, sending bills down.

Revenue in the first six months dropped 4.4% to £894.4 million, it said. Profit before tax rose by £6 million to £201.1 million.

“Average customer bills have reduced by 7% in real terms this year but we recognise that for many in our region, these are still challenging times,” said chief executive Steve Mogford.

“For those struggling to pay their bills, we offer the sector’s widest range of financial assistance schemes. We have also acted swiftly to increase the number of customers eligible for reduced tariffs.”

United said it was making no changes to its dividend policy.

Energy and water utilities have been encouraged to help customers who are struggling to pay bills because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

United said its support schemes had helped 142,000 customers during the pandemic, adding that it has not furloughed any staff and continues to recruit.