Electricity, water and sewerage bills will rise from April.

Charges for electricity, water and sewerage will increase by 1.1%.

The toilet tax, introduced in 2014 as a flat rate £50 charge, will rise from 215p in the pound last year to 217.4p.

And the water rate will increase from 235.5p in the pound to 238.1p in the pound.

The 1.1% increases are in line with the Consumer Prices Index rate of inflation for the 12 months up to the end of September last year.

Manx Utilities has published its annual pricing review for the first time to meet its commitment to improve transparency on price-setting.

A five-year pricing strategy was approved by Tynwald in October 2018 which proposed inflation-only rises in electricity and a balancing of water and sewerage costs.

It led to the household water rate being slashed by nearly a third from 341p in the pound to 230p in 2019 - but the toilet tax being more than doubled from 98p to 210p plus inflation.

This rebalancing was designed to have no overall impact on the majority of customers as the reduction in the water rate was matched by the increase in the sewerage rate.

From April 1 this year, electricity charges for most domestic users and commercial users will increase from 16.7p per unit to 16.9p per unit.

The standing charge will increase from 20.0p per day to 20.2p per day for both domestic and commercial customers.

Tariffs for industrial customers will increase by 1.1%. No changes to the structure of capacity and demand charges will be made.

The discount for non-domestic water and sewerage customers will reduce from 45% to 40%.

There will be no increase in charges for septic tank emptying.

Chairman of Manx Utilities, Dr Alex Allinson said: ’In October 2018 Manx Utilities presented a five-year pricing strategy to Tynwald.

’This strategy provides customers with protection from excessive price increases and transparency as to how Manx Utilities sets its charges.

’It also ensures Manx Utilities is able to meet its financial obligations and operates in an efficient manner.

’This year has seen the publication of Professor Curran’s report in respect of climate change and Government’s Action Plan to achieve net zero emissions.

’Manx Utilities is committed to playing a key role in respect of any new plans arising from the climate emergency.’

There was outcry over the introduction of the flat rate toilet tax in 2014, initially as a £50 fixed sum but rising to £100 the next year. This led to its replacement with a ’fairer system’ based on property rateable values.