South East Water to pay £30.5m penalty after multiple failures

Ofwat investigated supplier over supply interruptions, customer failings and for breaching its licence

Business live – latest updates

South East Water will pay £30.5m after a series of supply interruptions, customer failings and for breaching its licence, regulator Ofwat has confirmed.

The watchdog said the redress package concludes three investigations into the supplier and includes a previously proposed £22m fine for water supply failures between 2020 and 2023 affecting more than 286,000 people.

Ofwat launched a second investigation 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.

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

An independent monitor will be appointed by Ofwat to review South East Water’s performance improvement plan and wider turnaround efforts.

Helen Campbell, the executive director for 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 the first step towards full accountability and to improving overall performance, and we welcome the company’s engagement to bring these cases to a conclusion.

Sign up to Business Today

Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning

after newsletter promotion

“But the work doesn’t stop today – South East Water needs to make meaningful, lasting changes to ensure customers can rely on the service they receive.”