Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has been voted the best water company in the UK for value for money and customer service.
A survey of readers of Moneywise magazine, totalling 5,000 responses, saw Welsh Water top the poll of water companies in the UK, with customers singling out value for money, good customer service and clear and concise bills.
It came as part of the personal finance magazine’s Home Finances Awards, covering readers’ views across a range of providers for water, gas, electricity, broadband and mobile phones.
The company, which employs more than 3,000 people, was voted the Most Recommended by Moneywise readers.
Welsh Water is unique in the water industry, as the only not-for-profit water company in Wales and England – meaning it doesn’t have shareholders and directs any surplus it generates back into the business and services. It serves more than three million customers across most of Wales, Cheshire, and Herefordshire.
It has also involved customers in its decision-making to an unprecedented degree – consulting nearly 21,000 during the summer on how it should prioritise its long-term investments.
The award reflects efforts the company has made to further improve its customer service offering, coming on the back of record investment in its water and wastewater networks, and confirmation of eight consecutive years of below-RPI inflation bill price rises. The company has also confirmed it now supports 91,000 low-income households with its range of social tariffs, like HelpU.
Water industry customer watchdog, the Consumer Council for Water, also reported that Welsh Water was the most trusted of all water and sewerage companies in Wales and England.
Welsh Water Chief Executive, Chris Jones, said: “This result is great recognition that we are delivering for our customers. Our not-for-profit way of working has our customers at the heart of everything we do – and this is crucial to realising our company vision of earning the trust of our customers, every day.”