The Water Support tariff will offer help to around 10,000 customers who are faced with both low incomes and higher than average bills, including those who are not currently in arrears.
It will provide them with up to a £150 discount on their bills and aims to reduce Yorkshire Water’s cost of bad debt, which adds around £6 to each of its customers’ bills. This is lower than the national average cost of bad debt, which adds an average of £15 to water bills.
Yorkshire Water chief executive Richard Flint said: “We know the cost of living is a real concern for some of our customers and we want to do what we can to support those that are struggling with their water bills.
“We already have a number of schemes aimed at helping vulnerable customers and those struggling with debt, but our new Water Support tariff will help to prevent customers on low incomes getting into debt in the first place.”
The scheme was launched on Friday by Labour’s Wakefield MP Mary Creagh during a visit to Yorkshire Water’s customer contact centre in Bradford.
She said: “Families across Yorkshire are struggling with the cost of living crisis so it’s good to see Yorkshire Water introducing a social tariff to help people on low incomes. This is something which I have campaigned for, for several years.”
Creagh reiterated Labour’s pledge to create a national affordabiltiy scheme under which all the water companies would have to offer to their customers despite the fact that from 1 April, 14 out of the 18 water companies will offer social tariffs to vulnerable customers.