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South East Water Fined £30.5 m for Kent, Sussex Outages

7/14/2026

Summary

Story summary

South East Water will pay a £30.5 million enforcement package after Ofwat investigations into supply failures in Kent and Sussex.
Ofwat earmarked £1.5 million for a community fund and £5 million for free water butts.
The fine allocates £13 million for fixing failures and £5 million each for smart-metering upgrades and storage.
Outages between November and January left up to 70 000 homes without water, prompting school closures and childcare difficulties.

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Story summary

South East Water will pay a £30.5 million enforcement package after Ofwat investigations into supply failures in Kent and Sussex.
Ofwat earmarked £1.5 million for a community fund and £5 million for free water butts.
The fine allocates £13 million for fixing failures and £5 million each for smart-metering upgrades and storage.
Outages between November and January left up to 70 000 homes without water, prompting school closures and childcare difficulties.