Severn Trent pledges to improve service

The water and waste company has announced its plans for the five years from 2020 to 2025.

Severn Trent has revealed its plans for lower bills, improved service and billions of pounds of investment and a new community dividend.

The main theme of the plan is service, addressing potential improvement areas and increasing the standard in areas where they continue to be strong.

Severn Trent plan to reduce their bills by 5%, meaning bills remain the lowest average combined in England.

The company also plan to invest £6.6bn and help almost 50% of customers who are struggling to pay bills.

To positively impact the community, Severn Trent intend to give back to local communities through volunteering, donations to the Severn Trent Trust Fund, and commit to using 1% of profits for community schemes.

Plans are built in consideration with customer feedback before sharing with sector regulator, Ofwat who will consider the plan then return with potential revisions.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Chief Executive, said: “We haven’t created our plan in isolation – we’ve carried out the biggest ever consultation with our customers and stakeholders to find out what really matters to them and have then produced this plan which we absolutely believe will improve our service and our legacy for future generations.

“That means that, at a time when prices are going up, our customers’ bills will be coming down, we’ll help more vulnerable customers than ever before, and we’ll invest billions of pounds to make our service even better.

“By doing this, and by improving the day-to-day service we offer even in those areas where we’re already sector leaders, we firmly believe our customers will be served better, our environment protected, and future generations educated about the importance of water as a precious resource.”

Other initiatives highlighted in the plans include: improved efficiency, increased options for customers, collaboration with schools to reduce the trace of lead in their pipework, committed responses to low pressure complaints and the development of a £10m Technical Academy.

Full details of the plan can be found at stwater.co.uk/2020-2025plan.