West Kent Local News
Ofwat orders £30.5m South East Water redress package after repeated failures
South East Water has agreed to a £30.5 million redress package after water regulator Ofwat concluded three separate investigations into repeated supply failures, customer service shortcomings and the company's financial resilience.
The package, funded entirely by South East Water's shareholders, replaces an earlier proposed £22 million financial penalty. Instead of being paid as a fine, the money will be invested in improving the water network, supporting communities affected by previous outages and increasing the resilience of the system.
The announcement comes after years of supply disruptions affecting customers across Kent and Sussex, including the major water outages that left thousands of households in Tunbridge Wells and surrounding areas without running water during late 2025 and early 2026.
Why did Ofwat take action?
Ofwat's investigations found that South East Water had failed to adequately plan for periods of high demand, maintain key infrastructure and learn from previous incidents.
The regulator said these shortcomings contributed to repeated supply interruptions between 2020 and 2023, affecting more than 286,000 customers across Kent and Sussex.
A second investigation followed further disruption between November 2025 and January 2026, including during Storm Goretti, when up to 70,000 homes lost their water supply.
According to Ofwat, many customers were left without drinking water, were unable to shower or flush toilets, and faced long queues at bottled water collection points. Schools closed, some people were unable to work because of childcare issues, while others experienced difficulties managing medical conditions.
The regulator also concluded that South East Water did not communicate clearly or quickly enough during the incidents and failed to provide adequate bottled water to all affected customers.
A third investigation was launched after the company's credit rating was downgraded by Moody's in May, leaving it in breach of one of its licence conditions.
Where will the money go?
The £30.5 million package includes:
- £13 million for improvements following an independent review of the company's network resilience.
- £5 million to bring forward smart metering for business customers.
- £5 million to provide free water butts to households to help reduce demand on the mains supply.
- £5 million to install on-site water storage and smart metering for high-use businesses.
- £1 million to improve water resilience at vulnerable sites.
- £1.5 million for a community fund supporting areas across Kent and Sussex most affected by previous supply failures.
Independent monitor to oversee improvements
Alongside the financial package, Ofwat will appoint an independent monitor to oversee South East Water's Performance Improvement Plan.
The monitor will report directly to the regulator on whether the company is delivering the changes needed to improve reliability and customer service. The cost of the independent monitor will be paid separately by South East Water and is not included within the £30.5 million package.
Helen Campbell, Executive Director for Delivery at Ofwat, said the company must now focus on rebuilding trust with its customers.
She said the repeated failures had caused "real disruption and hardship" for residents and businesses across Kent and Sussex, adding that supply interruptions on this scale had happened "far too often."
South East Water: "We are incredibly sorry"
Responding to Ofwat's decision, South East Water apologised to customers affected by the outages.
The company said it had worked with the regulator to ensure the money would directly benefit customers rather than being paid as a financial penalty.
In a statement, South East Water said:
We are incredibly sorry for the historical supply disruptions that affected our customers across Kent and Sussex. We know this caused significant disruption and anxiety, and we accept the failures identified by Ofwat.
The company added that the package would support its largest-ever investment programme and help strengthen network resilience to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again.
For many residents across West Kent, the announcement follows months of frustration caused by repeated water supply interruptions and the current hosepipe restrictions. Whether the latest investment leads to lasting improvements will now be closely watched by both customers and Ofwat.
Read more:
South East Water statement: South East Water statement on finalised Ofwat undertakings package
