The government has privately asked water companies to explore saving money on future water supplies by assuming unrealistically low levels of climate change.
Water firms are required to publish “water resources management plans” every five years for how they will ensure the water supply for the next 25 years, including new reservoirs and transfers from wet to dry parts of the country.
Amid rising government concern about how environmental targets will push up consumer water bills, the Environment Agency wrote to water companies in July to ask them to ensure their plans “protect your customers from adverse bill impacts”.
The agency said Therèse Coffey, the environment secretary, had asked it to “investigate the scale of investment needed” in the context of “many families and individuals struggling to pay their utility bills”.
The regulator said companies should see how they could minimise costs from 2030 onwards, while meeting legal requirements. One option given was to see if money could be saved by assuming a “low climate change scenario”.