South East Water must pay £30.5m for supply failures

South East Water must pay £30.5m after supply interruptions hit thousands of its customers across Kent and Sussex.

Water regulator Ofwat said this follows the conclusion of three investigations into the company's repeated failures.

The redress package will be paid for by the firm's shareholders and not through customer bills.

A spokesperson for the water company said they were "incredibly sorry" for the historical supply disruptions for Kent and Sussex customers.

"We know this caused significant disruption and anxiety, and we accept the failures identified by Ofwat," they said.

"It is not the standard of service our customers deserve.

"Our priority has been to ensure that the resolution of this investigation directly benefits those who suffered the most."

Ofwat says the redress will include £5m to provide free water butts for households, £5m to bring forward smart metering to businesses and other non-household customers, and a further £5m for on-site storage to help manage the supply during peak demand.

The regulator previously proposed a £22m fine for water supply failures between 2020 and 2023, which impacted more than 286,000 people.

It launched a second probe at the start of this year after further supply interruptions in Tunbridge Wells and across Kent and Sussex between November and January, which left up to 70,000 homes without water.

Customers were unable to access tap water, shower or flush their toilets during the supply issues between November and January.

Schools were closed and some customers had to cancel work due to childcare issues as a result, while others had difficulty dealing with medical conditions, according to Ofwat.

The watchdog found the company did not communicate "clearly and accurately" with customers quickly enough and did not provide those affected with adequate bottled water supplies.

The third investigation followed the downgrading of South East Water's credit rating by Moody's in May, which meant the firm was in breach of its licence condition.

An independent monitor will be appointed by Ofwat to review the company's performance improvement plan.

Ofwat says the company will also pay for the independent monitor, which is not included in the £30.5m enforcement package.

Helen Campbell, executive director of delivery at Ofwat, said: "South East Water must now focus on what matters most, its customers.

"These failures have caused real disruption and hardship for residents and businesses across many years, and supply interruptions of this scale have happened far too often.

"This package is a first step towards accountability and improved performance, and we welcome the company's efforts to resolve these cases."

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