Water companies are to pay out millions of pounds to customers after falling short of key targets for pollution and leakage, and after supply interruptions have affected billpayers.
Thames Water is the company that has to pay out the most, with more than £101million to send to customers, followed by Southern Water, which has to pay out £43million.
Ofwat has confirmed the payments after several suppliers were foudn to be in the lowest category for their quality of service, including Dwr Cymru, Southern, Thames, Anglian, Bristol, South East and Yorkshire Water.
Not one supplier achieved the top ‘leading’ category for their quality of service and 10 suppliers were rated merely ‘average’ for their provision.
David Black, CEO of Ofwat, said: “It is very disappointing news for all who want to see the sector do better.
“It is not going to be easy for companies to regain public trust, but they have to start with better service for customers and the environment.
“We will continue to use all our powers to ensure the sector delivers better value.”
Ofwat said is investigating all 11 water and wastewater companies with live enforcement cases for six companies for potential failures on sewage discharges into the environment.
They are also investigating Dwr Cymru and South West Water in relation to the accuracy of leakage reporting and per capita consumption.
However, some suppliers were rewarded for their efforts, with Severn Trent Water taking £88million while United Utilities receives £25million.
Since 2020, companies have shown improvements in reducing leakage and internal sewage, with all but one company achieving the target for unplanned outages, though progress has been too slow across the board, Ofwat said.
The regulator said the payout figures are provisional until it completes the review process.
Mike Keil, senior director at the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Customers are tired of not getting the service they deserve for the things they care about.
“It’s right and fair that people get their money back when they don’t receive the services they were promised by some water companies. People want assurance that their water bill is good value for money.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said on Monday that it is providing more funding to reduce the amount of times sewage is pumped out of storm overflows, adding another £4billion on to the £56billion it announced last year.
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Source: Expressnews.co.uk