Water supply issues in heat added to Ofwat probe

Water supply failures during warm weather in May will be examined as part of Ofwat's ongoing investigation into South East Water.

The regulator said several days of disruption affecting households across Kent would be "picked up" alongside earlier incidents already under scrutiny.

Ofwat has been investigating the company since January after about 30,000 homes in Kent and Sussex were left without water for days during severe winter conditions.

South East Water said "resilience" was a "major focus" and it was fully cooperating with the investigation.

The watchdog said its probe is focused on how the company responds to incidents, using previous events as evidence.

South East Water blamed the problems in January on freezing temperatures and Storm Goretti.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate also launched an investigation into the firm over the winter supply failures.

Issues in May, which the firm said were caused by "exceptionally high demand, following the period of hot weather", affected 22,000 properties at their peak.

Those failures followed disruption in November, where some 24,000 customers lost water supply or pressure in the Tunbridge Wells area, which also forms part of Ofwat's investigation.

South East Water announced in May its chair had departed and its chief executive would leave following the issues.

Ofwat has proposed fining the water company £22m for separate incidents between 2020 and 2023.

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