The Competition and Markets Authority set Wessex Water's allowed revenue for 2025-30 at £3,734 million on 10 March 2026, in 2022-23 prices. That is £106 million above Ofwat's updated figure of £3,628 million, against the £3,875 million the company had asked for.
What the bill looks like
The average annual bill for 2025-30 moves to an indicative £614, from £594 under Ofwat's determination and against £642 requested by the company, all in 2022-23 prices. The 2024-25 bill was £508. Ofwat's own determination had projected a £106 rise in the average household bill between 2024-25 and 2029-30, before inflation.
A higher return
The CMA raised the allowed return for the five companies that appealed, Wessex Water among them, from 4.03% to 4.20%. It also raised enhancement allowances for the five by £289 million in total.
The company's version
Wessex Water's investor statement of 24 April 2026 refers to "£104 million of additional allowed revenues and £271 million of additional investment". The same day, Moody's confirmed a one-notch downgrade to Baa2 from Baa1.
The balance sheet behind it
Net debt stood at £3,408.6 million at 30 June 2025, with gearing of 72.0%, up from £2,244.2 million and 67.1% in FY2020. Ofwat's determination had set a totex allowance of £4.3 billion for 2025-30, against £2.6 billion for 2020-25.
Where the extra revenue meets a pollution rate of 46.93 incidents per 10,000 km in 2025, a 2026 hosepipe ban and a regulator due to be replaced is set out, with key figures for every part of the business, in the full profile. The full report, Utility Intelligence Profile: Wessex Water, is available for USD 99. For a free overview, read the Wessex Water Utility Snapshot.