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South East Water is set to be fined £22million over supply failures that affected more than 286,000 people, the regulator has announced.
The proposed penalty comes after thousands of people in Kent and Sussex were hit with disruptions to their water supply between 2020 and 2023.
Water regulator Ofwat estimates more than 286,000 people were affected. As a result of the disruptions, customers had no tap water, were unable to shower or bathe, or flush their toilets.
An investigation by Ofwat found the company failed to plan sufficiently, learn from incidents and conduct root cause analysis to maintain resilience within its water supply system.
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Ofwat said this meant South East Water was therefore unable to cope during periods of high demand or extreme weather.
It added that the company also failed to maintain key infrastructure such as service reservoirs, boreholes and major pipes. A consultation will now open before Ofwat confirms its final decision.
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.”
