Water companies have been ordered to return £158m to households as they were rebuked over their poor performance.
Customers will see a reduction in their water bills in 2025/26 as a result, the watchdog said.
Ofwat warned that its assessment of the sector released on Monday morning was “disappointing”, and suppliers had fallen further behind on key targets on issues like pollution.
1 comment
***The Telegraph reports:***
Water companies have been ordered to return £158m to households as they were rebuked over their poor performance.
Customers will see a reduction in their water bills in 2025/26 as a result, the watchdog said.
Ofwat warned that its assessment of the sector released on Monday morning was “disappointing”, and suppliers had fallen further behind on key targets on issues like pollution.
It comes after water companies’ sewage spills into English rivers and seas [more than doubled last year](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/04/water-bosses-rivers-law-sewage-dump-sea-fines-prison-jail/), adding to growing public outrage over the privatised utilities sector.
The watchdog said that record investment alone over the next five-year period would not be enough to restore public trust.
Ofwat chief executive David Black warned that water companies kept blaming “outside causes” rather than recognising their shortcomings.
**Read more:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/10/08/water-companies-pay-back-158m-poor-performance/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/10/08/water-companies-pay-back-158m-poor-performance/)