Water company urges Watford residents to sign up to social tariffs

New research by Affinity Water has discovered that 4,800 eligible Watford residents are not signed up to the company’s social tariffs.

Households on low incomes, who receive certain benefits or have a medical condition that requires extra water may benefit from one of the social tariffs, Affinity Water said.

The water company has already supported over 75,000 customers across its supply area with their bills through these tariffs and are urging customers who may qualify to get in touch to see how they can be helped.

Anyone who has been affected financially by coronavirus may also be eligible for payment breaks, different tariffs or spreading the cost of their bill.

Joe Brownless, Director of Customer Operations at Affinity Water, said: “We know this has been a very challenging time for many of our customers and we want to let them know that we are here to help.

“We already have a number of schemes in place to help those who need financial support, including anyone who may have recently lost their job or been asked to take unpaid leave.

“We want to make it easy for everyone adversely affected to get the support they need as quickly as possible. They can find out more at www.affinitywater.co.uk/help.”

Affinity Water says it is set to invest £174 million this year to keep customers taps flowing with reliable, high quality drinking water and at the same time protect the environment, such as the region’s chalk streams.

Mr Brownless added: “We will fulfil these commitments to our customers by continuing to drive down leakage, and by investing in the latest innovative technology. We will also move water around our 16,500km of pipework more efficiently and continue to work with customers to help save water. 

“We know that these are the issues that customers care about and want us to deliver on, and we will be working round the clock to make sure we deliver on these commitments, whilst supporting those that need it most.”