Southern Water – the utility company that supplies to the Isle of Wight – is one of 11 companies who have been told they must cut tens of millions of pounds from customers’ bills for missing pollution targets.
Last summer Southern Water pledged to reduce sewage emissions around the Isle of Wight. However, here on the Island we’ve seen a summer of sewage outflows.
In July a report from the Chair of the Environment Agency revealed that Southern Water had fallen to a one-star rating, and sat at the bottom of the EA’s star ratings, meaning their performance was terrible across the board.
£28.3m bill for Southern Water
Ofwat made the announcement on Monday, adding that Southern Water face a financial hit because of missed targets on water treatment works compliance, pollution incidents and internal sewer flooding across 2021/22.
The water company will have to repay £28.3m to customers.
Black: All water companies need to earn back the trust of customers
David Black, Ofwat CEO, said,
“When it comes to delivering for their customers, too many water companies are falling short, and we are requiring them to return around £150m to their customers.
“We expect companies to improve their performance every year; where they fail to do so, we will hold them to account. The poorest performers, Southern Water and Thames Water, will have to return almost £80m to their customers.
“All water companies need to earn back the trust of customers and the public and we will continue to challenge the sector to improve.”
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