Ofwat PR24 and rising water charges: what businesses need to know

Many businesses saw their water bill rise in 2026, and the reason sits largely outside your control: wholesale charges went up from April 2026 under the water regulator Ofwat's latest price controls. Here is what that means in plain English, and where you can still make a difference.

What actually changed

Ofwat sets five-yearly price controls for the regional water companies (the current one, often called PR24, runs from 2025 to 2030). Under it, the wholesale charges for clean water and wastewater rose from 1 April 2026 across the regions. Most business retailers also increased their retail charges on default tariffs at the same time.

Why this affects every business

Here is the key thing to understand about business water: wholesale charges make up the large majority of your bill — and they are the same whichever retailer you use. The retailer only adds a small retail margin on top. So when Ofwat's regional wholesale prices rise, almost every business feels it, no matter who sends the bill.

What you can — and can't — control

You can't change the wholesale price; it's set regionally by the regulator. But you can control the parts around it:

• Don't sit on a default tariff. Default (deemed) rates are usually the most expensive retail terms. A negotiated contract is normally cheaper.
• Check your bill for errors. Overcharges like surface-water drainage you don't use, or estimated reads, are common — and correcting them can be worth more than switching. See our guides on water bill errors and drainage rebates.
• Compare retailers. The retail slice is small, but on higher usage it still adds up — and service quality varies.

How Win Energy helps

We compare business water retailers across the market and check your bill line by line for the charges that quietly inflate it. Because wholesale is fixed, we're honest about where the real saving is — often in correcting your bill and getting off a default tariff rather than switching alone.

Rising wholesale charges are here for the current price-control period, so the smart move isn't to chase a magic cheaper supplier — it's to make sure you're on a proper contract, not overpaying for charges you don't owe, and reviewing it regularly.