Wessex Water records strong customer performance
- Wessex Water continues to lead the way for customer service across the water industry.
- Upcoming verdict of the company’s appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority over its 2025-30 business plan will shape the level of investment in essential water infrastructure.
- Chief Executive states Wessex Water remains committed to delivering on tackling issues that matter most to customers.
Wessex Water’s annual results show it remains in a strong position at the end of the 2020-25 regulatory period (AMP7) for its essential services to customers, whilst acknowledging that there is still room for improvement.
Financial results for 2024/25 showed turnover increased from £574.4m to £652.6m, while the position after taxation improved from a loss of £33.0m in 2023/24 to a profit of £11.7m.
The company has a decades-long record of providing top customer service, and this continued into 2025, topping Ofwat’s annual Customer Measure of Experience (C-MeX) table for customer service and scoring second overall out of all water and sewerage companies in England and Wales.
The ethos of ‘going the extra mile’ for customers remains deep-rooted into Wessex Water’s culture, so much so that by 2025 more than 150,000 customers had signed up to its Priority Services Register.
The company aims to increase the number of households who receive support from its ‘Help to Pay’ programme from 70,000 to 140,000 and eradicate water poverty by 2030, with no one having to spend more than 5% of their disposable income on water
The Wessex Water region continues to boast some of the best coastal and river water quality in the country, thanks in part to the water company’s efforts to expand its sewerage network, improve treatment processes and harness innovative AI and nature-based solutions to monitor water quality.
Since 2020, Wessex Water has spent more than £200 million on storm overflow improvements and increasing capacity at its water recycling centres, while a further £200 million was spent on boosting phosphorus removal at 64 of these sites to reduce nutrients entering watercourses.
And the company continues to engage with key stakeholders in river catchments, such as farmers and landowners, to work together holistically in reducing pollution – an approach that it has pioneered for 20 years.
Looking ahead
Wessex Water’s 2025-30 (AMP8) business plan is its most ambitious yet, following an extensive consultation process with customers and regulators as to what the company should focus its efforts on to enhance its services.
In February 2025, Wessex Water, along with five other water companies, asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to review how much it can invest in vital water and sewerage improvements over the next five years. This came after Ofwat confirmed a 17% reduction in investment compared Wessex Water’s calculations of what is required to meet its obligations to customers, the environment and to support growth in the region.
Chief Executive Ruth Jefferson stresses that regardless of the CMA’s decision, Wessex Water remains focused on delivering positive outcomes for customers and the environment.
“We plan to double our investment, an additional £2 billion between 2020 and 2025, tackling a range of issues that matter to our customers,” said Mrs Jefferson.
“We will further reduce leakage, increase the resilience of our water supply network, help customers reduce water demand through initiatives such as smart meters, and continue tackling storm overflow discharges.
“Where possible, we want to achieve these goals in ways that help the environment, such as harnessing nature-based solutions for water and wastewater treatment instead of building more carbon-intensive concrete infrastructure.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently approved 31 nature-based trial projects to treat groundwater-influenced storm overflows for AMP8 – an area that Wessex Water has led the charge on in recent years. These include constructed wetlands, reedbeds and bioswales to treat wastewater diluted with groundwater naturally before being released into nearby watercourses, all while boosting local biodiversity.
This demonstrates the company’s commitment to continue pioneering and advocating for nature-based solutions as more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective methods to treat water and waste. It is only one of three water companies permitted to take part in the trials due to its previous experience with projects such as Cromhall and Durleigh wetlands.
While there are record levels of water and sewerage improvements being made in the region, Wessex Water says it understands that not all customers will be able to afford the necessary bill rises that contribute to the investment required and will continue its campaign to signpost anyone who needs help to pay their bills to its various support tariffs available.