Water firms forced to pay back customers for poor performance
Following extensive criticism of water firms discharging raw sewage and impacting the UK’s waterways in recent years, next, we’ll take a look at what water customers can expect with their upcoming water bills, as firms are being forced to pay back customers, after poor performances reported by the regulator.
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00:00 Some water companies have been ordered to pay back £114m to customers through lower bills after missing key targets.
00:08 Ofwat, the industry regulator, said that firms are "falling short on performance measures around leakages, supply and reducing pollution".
00:16 And in its assessment of the companies, Ofwat said that not one company reached the highest measure of performance.
00:22 No company was considered leading in the review, but Thames, Anglian and Bristol Water were some that fell into the lowest category of lagging and the remaining 10 were rated average.
00:32 If companies fail to meet targets on things like reducing pollution, leaks and water outages, Ofwat restricts the money they can take from customers.
00:41 All but five of the water providers reviewed will, therefore, have to give money back to customers by reducing their bills next year, rather than each bill payer getting a lump sum refund.
00:51 The companies that will have to cut bills include Northumbrian Water, SES Water, Yorkshire and Southern Water.