Water UK, the trade association representing the water companies of the United Kingdom, said on Thursday that English and Welsh households should expect to see their water and sewage bills rise by 7.5% starting in April, which will mark the largest increase in those utility bills in two decades.

It is expected the rate hike will see customers pay roughly £1.23 ($1.51) per day on average – marking an increase of £0.08 ($0.10) per day, or £448 ($551) per year, £31 ($38) per year above the cost in 2022.

As the rate hikes were announced, analysts were issuing warnings that already one in five citizens were finding it difficult to pay their bills. Consumer groups met the announcement of the rate hikes with warnings that this will only put further pressures on households which are already struggling under the cost of living crisis being created by the raging energy crisis in Europe.

In defense of the rate hikes, Water UK pointed out that the rate hikes for most of the customers across England will be below the current rate of inflation. To arrive at that conclusion the association used data from the November Consumer Prices Index including owner occupier’s housing costs (CPIH), which showed inflation at 9.3%.

In December the overall rate of inflation in the UK was 10.5%.

Water UK noted, “Water bills remain lower, in real terms, than they were a decade ago,” adding that the price hikes primarily reflected the nation’s higher costs for energy, as water firms use approximately 2% of the electricity in the UK.

According to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), the UK employs a postcode of social tariff schemes, which causes some customers who genuinely require help with their bills to “slip through the net.”

CCW chief executive Emma Clancy said in an interview, “These increases will bring more uncertainty to struggling households at a time when they can’t be certain they will get the help they need.”