NI Water announce 2025/26 charges
25 March 2025 11:00
NI Water has announced new charges for the 2025/26 period. Effective from 1st April 2025, non-domestic water and sewerage charges are set to increase by 7.7% on average.
This announcement comes as part of NI Water's commitment to balancing necessary infrastructure investment with fair pricing for their customers.
NI Water Director of Finance, Regulation & Commercial, Ronan Larkin, commented:
“NI Water’s proposed charges undergo a robust process, and any increase must comply with price limits set by the Utility Regulator.
“Tariff increases in line with these price limits will see non-domestic tariffs rise by 7.7% on average from 1 April 2025. This compares favourably against price increases in other water and sewerage utilities across Scotland, England and Wales.
"NI Water operates in a challenging funding environment with high expectations to provide a cost-effective water and sewerage service. The revenue from bills will support necessary investment in infrastructure, benefiting the local economy and environment."
It is important that customers who may need extra help with their bill communicate with us as soon as possible. Our billing team will be on hand to offer guidance, including payment breaks or longer repayment plans.
We have an online self-service portal with a smart navigation to help provide a better experience when paying a bill, managing account(s), or viewing water consumption details.
Leaflets will be mailed to non-domestic customers to notify them of the forthcoming pricing changes and how they will be applied.
The full Scheme of Charges will be available on the NI Water website from 1st April 2025 at https://www.niwater.com/services-for-developers/charges/. Anyone with questions about their bill or our charges can phone our Billing Enquiries Team on 03458 770030.
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact NI Water Press Office press.office@niwater.com
Notes to editors
- Proposed tariff increases must comply with price limits set by the Utility Regulator. These price limits limit the extent to which tariffs can be increased.
- Typical measured customer bills will rise by 7.0%, while typical unmeasured and typical trade effluent bills will rise by 8.6% and 9.6% respectively.
- Measured customers are charged for water and sewerage based on a meter reading. Unmeasured customers are charged based on the Net Annual Value (NAV) of their premises.
- While the value of a customer’s bill will vary depending on the amount of water used or the value (NAV), the following are typical examples of how customers may be impacted by these increases:
Typical measured customer examples
- A shop or small office unit, connected to sewer, using 285M³ of water, will pay £531, a rise of £34 per year.- A medium size factory, connected to sewer, using 1,306M³ of water, will pay £4,881, a rise of £319 per year.- Farmer using 400M³ of water, with septic tank, will pay £380, a rise of £23.
Typical unmeasured customer examples
- Small to medium shop or office unit, with a NAV of £8,000, connected to sewer, will pay £418, a rise of £33.
- The price limits used by NI Water initially exclude inflation. The Utility Regulator, responsible for determining price limits, uses Retail Price Index (RPI) as its main measure of inflation. The RPI measure of inflation used is based on November 2024 RPI which stood at 3.6%. The 3.6% is then added to the price limits that excluded inflation.
- NI Water is required to annually review the charges levied for water and sewerage services and agree them with the Utility Regulator in order that customers pay the fairest rate for the water and sewerage services they receive.
- The need to raise tariffs reflects the impact rising inflation and continued high power costs has had on the cost of providing water and sewerage services to customers.
- Due to the continuing deferment of domestic charges, eligible measured water and sewerage customers will continue to avail of a domestic allowance which will reduce their water and sewerage bill. As it is not possible to offer a volumetric domestic allowance to unmeasured customers, unmeasured water and sewerage charges will continue to be billed at one half of the full charge.
- Non-domestic customers include: small, medium and large businesses, farms, industrial users, voluntary organisations and charities, public bodies, churches and non-household use properties.