OFWAT TO RETURN CUSTOMER MONEY AS WATER FIRMS UNDERPERFORMED Customers will receive £114m off their water bills next year
Customers will receive £114m off their water bills next year as the regulator has said water companies fell short of standards.
The majority of water and wastewater companies in England and Wales underperformed, Ofwat said as part of its water company performance report.
As a result, all but five of the 17 utility providers will have to give back money to customers. The others can increase prices.
Water firms were classed as leading, average or lagging in categories including pollution incidents, customer service and leakage. No company was ranked as leading.
Seven are categorised as lagging in the 2022-2023 targets: Anglian Water, Dŵr Cymru, Southern Water, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Bristol Water and South East Water.
A further ten companies are listed as average.
The greatest amount, more than £100m, will be paid back to customers of Thames Water, the utility which supplies one in four people in Britain with water.