Scotland's economic regulator has moved its final decision on Scottish Water's charges for 2027–33 from October 29 to November 12, 2026. The Water Industry Commission for Scotland's June draft allows bills to rise by CPI + 2% a year, while Scottish Water asked for CPI + 3.3%.
Why the date moved
The Commission announced the change on October 21, 2026. It received 51 consultation responses on its Draft Determination, some carrying information that was not available when the draft was written, and the Scottish Government agreed to extend the timetable. New charges are still due to take effect on April 1, 2027.
How far apart the numbers are
Scottish Water's final business plan, submitted in February 2026, proposes £8.1 billion of investment within a £13.4 billion total. The June 30 draft supports £7,946 million in 2024-25 prices and identifies £360 million of possible savings. It also allows up to 0.3% more a year in the final three years if uncertain costs such as energy materialize.
On the draft's own projections, the average household bill would rise from £537 in 2026-27 to £605 in 2032-33 before inflation, or £610 if those costs arrive.
What the 2021–27 period showed
The current cap of CPI + 2% was not fully used. By the end of the first three years Scottish Water had raised charges by CPI minus 4.4%, and the Commission's 2024-25 assessment put revenue around £250 million below expectations. Affordability limits the other direction: Consumer Scotland warned in January 2026 that the draft plan's CPI + 4% could push water poverty from around 10% to up to 16%.
How the November decision treats mains renewal, which ran at 0.11% a year over 2021–27, how Scotland's governance model frames the regulator's choice, and where the drought deficit sits are among the questions the full report examines. The full report, Water Systems Overview: Scottish Water, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the Scottish Water Utility Snapshot.