South East Water ordered to pay £30.5m penalty for supply failures

Ofwat, the English water regulator, has fined South East Water £30.5 million for repeated failures over several years. The company supplies water across south-east England.

The largest part of the fine, £22 million, covers supply problems between 2020 and 2023 that affected more than 286,000 people. A separate set of failures in late 2023 and early 2024 left up to 70,000 homes without water in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and Sussex.

Ofwat carried out three investigations into the company. The total penalty closes all three cases.