The water regulator plans to fine South East Water £22million for ‘repeated supply failures’, it said today.
Regulator Ofwat said the company had ‘failed to plan sufficiently’ and was therefore ‘unable to cope during periods of high demand or extreme weather.’
It follows an investigation into disruptions between 2020 and 2023, which affected more than 286,000 people.
As a result, customers were left with no tap water, unable to shower or flush their toilets, ‘which caused immense stress and anxiety,’ the watchdog said.
It also called the water company ‘slow and disorganised’ in its response and ‘has not taken ownership of these issues’.
Ofwat has opened a separate investigation into South East Water for recent failings too
Chris Walters, interim CEO at Ofwat said: ‘South East Water’s significant failings caused major disruption and had a huge impact on thousands of its customers. Not only did the company fail in its duty to provide a water supply to meet the demands of its customers, but it also fell short when it came to providing support for customers who lost their supply. They must do better.
‘This investigation gets to the heart of the company’s supply resilience problems. We want to see South East Water take more responsibility and get on with fixing things for its customers.’
Ofweat has launched a new, separate investigation into the firm, following major supply interruptions last November and December, and again in January.
This is a developing story
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