Member of Parliament for Delyn, Rob Roberts, is encouraging constituents who may be eligible to access Welsh Water’s HelpU social tariff, which aims to help and support the lowest income households with their water bills in the region.
Welsh Water is a ‘not for profit’ water company who serve and provide drinking water, as well as manage wastewater, for over 3 million people within 1.4 million homes and businesses across most of Wales, Herefordshire and parts of Deeside. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Welsh Water acted quickly to support its customers such as introducing payment holidays for around 5000 households and the suspension of charges for around 45,000 businesses.
With over 26,500km of water mains to maintain and 92 reservoirs to look after, Welsh Water supply over 828 million litres of water every day. As the fourth largest company in Wales, Welsh Water offer the most support of any water company in Wales and England, with more than 130,000 customers already supported by one of their social schemes to help keep their bills as affordable as possible.
As part of Welsh Water’s aim to support its customers especially as many recover from the financial impacts of Covid-19, the HelpU tariff has been made available to more than 40,000 extra customers, which will benefit households that are struggling most to pay their water bills.
The HelpU tariff works by putting a cap of £250 on the amount a household will pay for their water, meaning they won’t pay more than £250 a year - compared to an average household bill of £450 per year.
To be eligible, households must have a combined annual household income on or under the threshold which varies from £9,200 - £15,500 (dependant on the size of the household); must have one person in the household on at least one means-tested benefit such as Working Tax Credit and must use the water supply in their household for domestic use only.
If eligible, customers can apply through a HelpU application form which can be found on their website, with Welsh Water’s specialist support team over the phone or through certain third-party groups such as Citizens’ Advice Bureaux.
Commenting on the scheme, Rob said:
“In these challenging times it is important that organisations do all they can to help those most in need in society, so I commend Welsh Water for this initiative and encourage everyone who is eligible to apply for the HelpU tariff to get some assistance with their monthly outgoings.”
For further details on the tariff, to check eligibility and to apply, please visit: https://www.dwrcymru.com/en/my-household/get-help-paying-your-bill/helpu-tariff.
For further information about the support Welsh Water offer, please visit: https://www.dwrcymru.com/en/my-household/get-help-paying-your-bill.