If you don t like the meter once its been installed, you can revert back to the rateable system in the first year. Water companies are monopoly suppliers. We can t shop around. The key point I want to get across today is fairness of treatment . We have a ridiculous situation at present where the average water bill can vary from 70 to 170.
Quality of service is a key issue, both in terms of security of supply and water quality.
People should be adequately warned and adequately compensated. Sewer flooding is a key issue. There are a couple of points on the south coast where 20 houses suffer from sewer flooding every 1-2 years, and it takes millions of pounds to solve the problem. We still have a rateable system from the 1970 s that has very little relation to fairness. My Committee believes metering, with the appropriate tariffs in place, is fairer.