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The pledge came as Dee Valley is welcomed into an enlarged Severn Trent for the first time today, with the priority being to make sure customers receive a fantastic service going forward.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Chief Executive, said: “This is all about working together for the benefit of Dee Valley’s customers. We’ve committed to bringing in new initiatives like 24/7 customer service while also expanding our support for vulnerable customers, and investing in the network.

“I’d also like to stress to our new customers that we’re absolutely committed to keeping bills low.

“And, on behalf of everyone at Severn Trent, I’d just like to say that we’re really looking forward to building the business together, and working with colleagues and customers on that journey.”

Severn Trent’s offer for Dee Valley committed to build on the customers service record that Dee Valley has achieved by:

•    Extending support for vulnerable customers by providing a range of discounts for those who need help paying their bills. Some customers can get up to 90% off their bills if all other ways to help have been exhausted;

•    Launching 24/7 customer support so people can contact us at any time of the day, through a range of channels, including web chat, social media, telephone and email;

•    Equipping and training frontline teams so they can use new technology to help improve operational response times for customers; and

•    Sharing half of any wholesale cost savings with customers, which will be reflected in future bills helping to keep them low.

Both businesses have strong track records of keeping bills low. Severn Trent has the lowest average combined clean and waste water bills in the UK, and Dee Valley has one of the lowest average water bills in the country.  

Severn Trent quick facts and figures:  

•    Severn Trent customers pay less than £1 a day for all their clean and waste water services;

•    We are committed to supporting skills and training, and have more than doubled the number of apprentices and graduates in the last year;

•    We're improving our network and are investing £1,400 per household in the Severn Trent region between 2015 and 2020;

•    By 2020, we’ll generate the equivalent of half the energy we use from renewable sources;

•    We’ve almost trebled the number of vulnerable customers we support in the last year;

•    We were also rewarded by Ofwat for outperformance against the things that our customers told us mattered most to them. These included reducing sewer flooding, reducing leakage and decreasing pollutions; and

•    We’re the only company to get the top 4* ranking from the Environment Agency for our performance two years out of the last three.

Welsh customers: Subject to regulatory approval, it is our intention will operate in Wales under Welsh government policy and in England under Defra policy – a significant change to the current arrangements.