The water regulator Ofwat plans to fine South East Water £22 million over water supply failures between 2020 and 2023 impacting more than 286,000 people. Ofwat is consulting over the fine after homes in Kent and Sussex were hit by multiple supply interruptions over the years. According to Ofwat, South East Water lacked ownership for fixing the root cause of supply failures and did not maintain important infrastructure. The regulator states that South East Water failed to maintain supply-system resilience to minimise incidents occurring and failed to plan to make sure it had sufficient headroom to deal with periods of high demand. These issues left South East Water's water system more likely to fail during prolonged dry periods or when frozen water thawed. The exact timeline and details of the water supply failures between 2020 and 2023 have not been fully disclosed.
Chris Walters, interim chief executive of Ofwat, said, 'South East Water's significant failings caused major disruption and had a huge impact on thousands of its customers.' He added, '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.' According to Ofwat, customers were left with no tap water, unable to shower or bathe and could not flush their toilets. South East Water's response to these issues was slow and disorganised, with shortages of bottled water and not enough tankers or support for vulnerable customers. Walters concluded, 'They must do better.'
South East Water's significant failings caused major disruption and had a huge impact on thousands of its customers.
South East Water is bringing legal action against Ofwat over the proposed order. The company made a bid to temporarily block Ofwat from publishing plans at a private hearing on Monday. Lawyers for South East Water said there were compelling reasons to prevent the publication, which may cause irreparable damage. South East Water considered Ofwat's decision to be legally flawed, though the specific legal grounds South East Water is using to challenge Ofwat's decision have not been detailed. Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain rejected the temporary bid in a judgment on Monday. The judge said that South East Water's case is far from compelling.
Tens of thousands of households and businesses were left without supply due to repeated outages since November. How the £22 million fine will be calculated or allocated if imposed remains unclear. The outcome of the legal action South East Water is bringing against Ofwat is pending.
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.