Our Water Smart tariff trial
Ofwat has asked water companies to trial innovative charging tariffs which would both make water bills more affordable and encourage customers to reduce their water consumption. Our response to this is to trial a rising block tariff.
We used customer research to shape a trial of our new tariff, which we’re calling Water Smart.
We carried out the research between September 2024 and February 2025.
What we wanted to know
In all phases of the research we sought to understand customers’ views of the proposed new tariff, how they’d feel if selected for the trial.
In the surveys we also wanted to understand views on whether the trial should be mandatory for those selected, or whether customers should be able to opt-out. We also gathered views on the best name for the tariff and explored what communications customers would expect ahead of the trial’s start, and the questions they might have about it.
How we did it
We tested our initial concepts in four face-to-face focus groups. Customers’ response to these were very negative, so we refined our ideas again, then tested them again in 14 in-depth interviews and in two surveys with members of TapChat, our online customer research panel.
What customers told us
About the trial
Severn Trent plans to trial its new rising block tariff, Water Smart, with up to 3,000 smart metered household customers from 2025, to see if they save money and reduce their water consumption.
The trial will last at least one year. A mix of customers with different household characteristics will be selected for the trial. Participation in the trial will be optional; customers selected for the trial will be able to opt out, even once the trial has started.
There will be three charging blocks. The first 5,000 litres of water used per household per month (Block 1: Essential) will be charged at a lower rate per litre than currently. The second 5,000 litres used (Block 2: Standard) will be charged at about the same rate as currently. The third 5,000 litres or more used per month (Block 3: Premium) will be charged at a higher rate than currently.
The block sizes and unit costs will be the same for all households on the trial, regardless of the number of people living there. This is because it’s not possible for Severn Trent to know reliably the number of occupants in each home. Customers on Severn Trent’s main affordability support schemes (Big Difference Scheme and WaterSure) will not be selected for the trial.
24/7, triallists will be able to see which charging block they are in, in near-real time, using the My Smart Tracker feature of the Severn Trent website.