Gibb pours cold water on price plan

Southern Water wants to put up its average annual bill by a wallet-hurting 4.5 per cent above inflation each year between 2010 and 2015.

It would be the highest rise of any water company in Britain if it was approved by industry regulator Ofwat.

Mr Gibb, the MP for Bognor and Littlehampton, said the company could not be allowed to impose such a steep rise on householders' budgets.

He has written to Southern Water's chief executive officer Les Dawson and to Regina Finn, the chief executive of Ofwat, to criticise the company's proposals.

He said: "People should not be expected to pay such steep increases in water bills, particularly at a time when the cost of living more generally is rising sharply.

"Southern Water has submitted a plan to the water regulator which would see bills rise by more than 20 per cent in the five years from 2010.

"That would see the average bill reach 426 a year. I think a price hike on that scale is simply unfair and unreasonable."

Mr Dawson defended the planned rise. He said the company had worked hard to balance the need to keep prices down while spending money on improvements.

"However, we face a 655m programme of work to deliver 329 projects '“ more than anywhere else in the UK '“ specifically for legislation imposed on us from Europe. We also have to spend 450m to cater for growth in the south-east region," he said.

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