‘How can they expect us to pay more?’: Anger as crisis-hit Tunbridge Wells water firm boss says higher bills needed to stop shortages
The boss of crisis-hit South East Water (SEW), which has been hit by supply problems affecting thousands of people in Kent and Sussex, said higher bills were needed to boost the water company’s resilience.
SEW claimed that the latest supply disruption was caused by burst pipes and power outages caused by Storm Goretti; But the company has faced anger from the public and politicians who say the service is not perfect.
Nearly 30,000 homes were left without water in places such as Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells; many residents were forced to seek supplies from bottle collection points set up in affected areas.
Now, as water regulator Ofwat continues its investigation into the company, its chairman Chris Train said: said MPs said more money should be paid for preventative measures to stop the outages.
Last year, the water company increased bills by 20 per cent on the previous year, meaning the average household bill was £294. It is also one of five companies hoping to bill more than the regulator’s figure for the next five years.
In his letter to the environment select committee, Mr Train said: “Through the price review process we have proposed delivery plans that we consider necessary and appropriate to provide flexibility to Ofwat.
“Ofwat’s decision to refuse to fully fund core resilience plans, among other things, meant that as a board we had no choice but to take the difficult decision to appeal Ofwat’s determination to the Competition and Markets Authority in March 2025.”
He said he expected the outcome of the CMA’s decision to temporarily allow a 4 percent increase in bills on top of the 24 percent previously granted to be finalized in the coming weeks.
Mr Train said the company, unlike other water companies across the country, was facing faster and harsher impacts of climate change. They also face a growing demand for water that requires “very significant additional infrastructure,” he said.
But on Wednesday, suggestions that price increases would continue were met with anger in affected towns and villages; schools and businesses were forced to close, and many people claimed that the company did not inform them about the situation.
The latest shortage follows the outage in the run-up to Christmas, which left more than 20,000 properties without water.
Paddy McGinley, who lives in Ulcombe, near Maidstone, said he and other villagers had to buy bottled water and take it to vulnerable members of his community during the famine.
“We do their job for them,” he said Independent. “How can they expect us to pay more? They are a water company, it’s their job to provide water, they need to figure it out themselves, they shouldn’t make every excuse under the sun and ask us to pay more.”
Mr McGinley said he had called on villagers to remove unused credits from their water accounts in protest at the company’s performance.
Meanwhile, Alastair Carmichael, chairman of the environment select committee said Telegram Mr Train’s letter showed that he “failed to fully grasp the seriousness of the situation”.
He added: “We will be looking to hold another evidence session to get to the bottom of South East Water’s many problems. Its customers deserve answers and deserve to know they have access to safe and reliable water. The company will not be allowed to avoid this.”
On Monday, SEW’s chief executive, David Hinton, was questioned by MPs alongside Mr Carmichael and other members of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The same day, during an urgent question in the House of Commons, several MPs called on the government to sack Mr Hinton.
Shadow work and pensions minister Helen Whately said: “This is not the first time South East Water’s chief executive has shown us that he is not up to the job. May I encourage the honorable lady to use whatever power she has to urge him to act?”
South East Water has repeatedly apologized for the water shortage. The following statement was made on the website on Wednesday: “We are extremely sorry to all our customers who currently have no water or low pressure.
“We know how difficult it is to stay without water, and that’s not the level of service we want to provide. We use every resource available, from fixing leaks to water supplies to redirecting water around our network.”
The water company said customers continued to experience problems with supply in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge.
