South East Water has been ordered to spend £30.5m on improvements after supply interruptions left up to 70,000 homes without water, with schools forced to close and customers unable to shower or flush toilets. The penalty, imposed by regulator Ofwat, follows three separate investigations into the company’s repeated failures across Kent and Sussex.
The first probe covered supply disruptions between 2020 and 2023 that affected more than 286,000 people. A second investigation was launched at the start of this year after further interruptions in Tunbridge Wells and across Kent and Sussex between November and January. Customers were unable to access tap water, shower or flush their toilets during the supply issues. 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.
“South East Water must pay £30.5m after leaving up to 70,000 homes without water, following three Ofwat investigations.”
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.
The £30.5m redress package will be paid for by shareholders, not through customer bills. It includes £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 supply during peak demand. An independent monitor will be appointed by Ofwat to review the company’s performance improvement plan, with South East Water paying for the monitor.
A spokesperson for the water company said they were “incredibly sorry” for the historical supply disruptions. “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.”
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.”