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Water companies are asking for bills to increase even more than they first requested earlier this year; one of them asked for an increase of 84 percent.
The latest requests would see the average customer bill in England and Wales rise by 40 per cent between now and 2030, to £615 a year.
Utilities, including embattled Thames Water, have asked the regulator, Ofwat, to increase rates so they can improve their networks, often after years of underinvestment.
The increases will also pay for higher energy costs, since pumping water across the country uses a lot of energy, as does treating wastewater. Energy costs represent around a tenth of water companies' costs.
Southern Water wants bills to rise by more than current prices, by 84 per cent, while Thames Water is asking for a 53 per cent rise. Only one company, Wessex Water, is not demanding higher bills than initially requested.
Downing Street said “no one wants to see a situation where water bills increase” but stressed that, as a regulator, Ofwat was independent of the government.
The Conservatives accused ministers of planning to give in to price rises.
Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Before the election, Labor said they would be tough on water bosses, but now they are giving in to their demands to increase bills for consumers.”
Earlier this year, businesses asked Ofwat for invoices for an average of £585 by 2030, an increase of around a third from the current average of £439.
In its draft price review in July, the regulator reduced those requests to an average of £535. But now, after a period of consultation, 10 of the 11 water companies have responded with even larger requests than before.
Since they were privatized in 1989 by the then Conservative government, many water companies have been accused of investing little and paying large dividends to their new owners and shareholders.
Thames Water has come under special scrutiny due to its sorry financial situation. It has been on the brink of collapse and is trying to raise money from its investors.
The company has debt of £15bn and is in talks with 90 creditors who hold around two-thirds of those loans.
The companies have also been criticized for the amount of untreated wastewater being dumped into rivers and the sea.
Companies can release wastewater when it rains heavily to prevent flooding, but these releases have increased in frequency and caused more beaches to close.
The Environment Agency has warned against swimming at 24 sites in the UK due to a drop in water quality, warning of the risk of illness for those who do so.
Earlier this month, Ofwat said water companies were being fined £157.6m after failing to meet pollution and leakage targets. Thames Water accounted for more than a third of the £56.8m fines.
These poor results have led to calls for companies to be renationalised, but that would cost £99bn, an unlikely figure given Chancellor Rachel Reeves' plan to shore up the public finances.
Baroness Hayman, minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), told the House of Lords last month: “Given the significant costs involved, the government has no intention of nationalizing water companies.” .
Labor promised to “put bankrupt water companies under special measures to clean up our water” in its 2024 general election manifesto.
Ofwat will make a final decision on water companies' plans to increase bills from 2025 to 2030 in December.
