Water companies set to pay out £114million to customers - full list of firms affected including Thames Water

Water companies across the UK have been ordered to pay out millions of pounds to customers after being slammed by industry regulator Ofwat for poor standards. The firms have been told to lower bills after failing to meet pollution and leakage targets, while supply interruptions also affected billpayers.

Thames Water is the company that has to pay out the most, with more than £101million to send to customers. Southern Water must pay out the second-highest amount at £43million.

Ofwat judges the performance of water companies in England and Wales every year. Should a company fail to meet certain targets, the regulator restricts the amount of money it can bill its customers.

This year, not one company achieved Ofwat’s top category of “leading”. Meanwhile, Dŵr Cymru, Southern, Thames, Anglian, Bristol, South East and Yorkshire Water fell into the lowest category of “lagging” while the remaining 10 were rated “average”.

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.”

Which water companies have been ordered to lower their bills?

The following water companies have been ordered to lower bills:

• Affinity Water
• Anglian Water
• Dŵr Cymru
• Hafren Dyfrdwy
• Northumbrian Water
• SES Water
• South East Water
• South West Water (South West and Bristol areas)
• Southern Water
• Thames Water
• Yorkshire Water

How much could people save on their bills?

The five firms expected to pay out the most are Anglian, Dŵr Cymru, Southern Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water. Thames Water, which serves 15 million people, is the company that must pay out the most (more than £101m) followed by Southern Water which serves 4.6 million people and must pay out £43m.

As these figure are provisional, Ofwat has not yet revealed how much customers may see their bills reduced by. The net total industry amount of £114m is offset by some companies being rewarded, such as Severn Trent Water taking £88m and United Utilities taking £25m.

David Black, CEO of Ofwat, said: “The targets we set for companies were designed to be stretching – to drive improvements for customers and the environment. However, our latest report shows they are falling short, leading to £114m being returned to customers through bill reductions.

“While that may be welcome to bill payers, 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.”