Sth East Water faces £22m fine over supply failings

(Sharecast News) - South East Water faces a fine of £22.5m from the UK's industry regulator for repeated supply failures in Kent and Sussex between 2020 and 2023.

The company's failure to maintain adequate supply had affected 286,645 customers since 2020, Ofwat said in its enforcement order proposal.

Company failures left South East unable to cope during periods of high demand or extreme weather, leaving customers with no tap water, unable to shower or bathe, or flush their toilets.

Ofwat has also started a separate investigation into a series of outages before Christmas that left 16,000 residents in Kent and Sussex without water for up to a week between November and January.

South East Water said it had filed for a judicial review of Ofwat's draft decision and sought an injunction, which was rejected by the court.

The company is owned by a group of investment and pension funds led by the Utilities Trust of Australia, which holds a 50% stake.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com