South East Water under investigation by regulator amid UK water outage chaos | Personal Finance | Finance
South East Water is under investigation by the industry regulator following a series of water supply outages since November that have impacted tens of thousands of homes and commercial premises throughout Kent and Sussex. Ofwat has launched a probe into whether the water company has violated its licence requirements by falling short of customer service standards and failing to provide adequate assistance to those affected during the supply disruptions.
The most recent episode has seen thousands of properties across Kent and Sussex endure a sixth consecutive day without running water, with South East Water (SEW) attributing the disruption to Storm Goretti which triggered burst mains and electricity failures. Tunbridge Wells experienced a prolonged water shortage in November and December, with approximately 24,000 homes and businesses in the Kent town and surrounding areas deprived of safe drinking water for nearly a fortnight.
Ofwat has previously opened an investigation into SEW’s supply resilience, examining whether the firm has neglected to establish and maintain an effective water distribution network – an inquiry which remains active.
Lynn Parker, Ofwat senior director for enforcement, said: “The last six weeks have been miserable for businesses and households across Kent and Sussex with repeated supply problems. We know that this has had a huge impact on all parts of daily life and hurt businesses, particularly in the run-up to the festive period.
“That is why we need to investigate and to determine whether the company has breached its licence condition.”
This marks the first investigation launched by Ofwat into a potential violation of the customer-focused licence condition.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that ministers are conducting daily emergency meetings in response to the ongoing SEW outage.
A number of schools in Kent and Sussex have also been forced to close due to the outage.
Last week, MPs scrutinised SEW chief executive David Hinton over his company’s management of the supply failure in November and December.
Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, expressed on Tuesday that he and his colleagues remain “deeply sceptical” about the account of events provided by SEW to MPs.
The committee has recalled Mr Hinton and the chairman of SEW, Chris Train, to provide further evidence to the committee.
Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin, has been advocating for Mr Hinton’s resignation for over a month.
Bottled water stations continue to operate in Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead, and Maidstone for affected residents and businesses, with location details available on SEW’s website.
