Across the water industry the charges set by water companies for developer services activity (often referred to as 'new connections') are regulated by a series of rules which are set by Ofwat.
More information on these rules can be found at the bottom of this page. We publish our charges annually (normally around 1 February) ready for use between 1 April and 31 March.
Our charges fall into the following categories:
Charge |
What it covers |
How is it charged and when is it paid |
Which customers pay this |
Application or enquiry fee |
Upfront administrative activity from logging an application through to providing a quote or design |
Charged per application and paid upfront when you issue your application |
All customers pay this charge. The value of this charge is dependent on the type of application for example a service connection application fee is cheaper than the fee for a new mains scheme. |
Service connection charge (site-specific construction) |
The planning and delivery of constructing new service connections including local authority permitting costs for working in the highway and traffic management |
Charged on a menu of rates based on the scope of the works required and paid for after you have received your quote from us but before we carry out the construction works |
Those customers requiring new service connections into our network (including replacement connections) whether this is just one connection or many hundreds on a development site. |
Mains laying charge (site-specific construction) |
The planning and delivery of laying new mains on development sites or feeding a new development including local authority permitting costs for working in the highway and traffic management |
Charged on a menu of rates based on the scope of the works required and paid for after you have received your quote from us but before we carry out the construction works |
Those customers requiring a new main, typically a new main is installed where a number of new properties require a new water supply. It is unlikely that those customers requiring only a few service connections will pay this type of charge. We also use our mains charges when providing quotes for connecting infrastructure for Self Lay provider and NAV sites. |
Infrastructure charge |
The investment we need to make in our network to cater for the increased demand from new developments |
Charged per property (or per plot) and typically paid after the connections have been made (you can pay beforehand if you wish) |
The majority of customers pay this charge. If we are providing a connection to a location where there has been previous usage in the past 5 years (ie a renovated building/site, replacement connection) then no infrastructure charge is due here. |
Water efficiency discount |
40% discount against the infrastructure charge for properties which have 100lpd demand or less |
Applied per property (against the infrastructure charge for that property) and at the same time that the infrastructure charge is paid |
Any customer who is applicable for the infrastructure charge (the majority) and who has built to meet the demand requirements |
Income offset rebate |
Rebate provided against the infrastructure charge to recognise the future bill-paying revenue which will be provided by the newly connected property |
Applied per property and typically after connections have been completed |
Any customer who is applicable for the infrastructure charge (the majority) |
Our charging document includes our specific charges for this year
Charging regulations
If you would like to read more about the regulations which underpin our charges, you can find out more on the Ofwat website
Updated: 31 January 2024