CUMBRIAN households could be paying less for their water in the future following recommendations from the industry regulator.

Ofwat has told distributors of water, including United Utilities, which provides water for the North West, that they should be reducing their prices for customers over the next five years.

The regulator has tabled a draft proposal for how much they believe an average water bill should cost.

If the draft proposal is enacted, following a consultation period, average United Utility bills should fall from £377 in 2009/10 to £359 in 2014/15 - a saving for customers of 5 per cent.

United Utilities bosses had hoped for an average bill of £404, 11 per cent higher than the regulators recomendation.

Ofwat will make a final decision on the prices in November and the new bills will come into effect in April 2010.

A spokesman from United Utilities said: “We will continue to review this draft determination as part of our ongoing discussions with Ofwat ahead of publication of the final prices, which is scheduled for November 2009. We have only had a short time to review Ofwat’s plan. It is important to remember there is still a long way to go until the end of November when Ofwat releases its final report.”

The Consumer Council for Water, which represents the interests of customers, has welcomed Ofwat’s proposal.

Andrea Cook, Chair of the Consumer Council for Water Northern, said: “United Utilities responded positively to our earlier challenges and identified where it could make savings or where work could be spread over a longer period to lower the prices to charge until 2015.

“We have since challenged the regulator to look for opportunities to further reduce the impact on customers’ bills and are pleased that Ofwat has listened to customers and to us, as the consumers’ representative, when reaching it’s draft decisions.”