Water Watchdog responds to Thames Water’s leakage penalties

The Water Watchdog has responded to today’s announcement opens in new window that Thames Water has agreed to return £65 million to its customers following an investigation by the regulator Ofwat into its leakage performance.

The payment is on top of the £55 million in automatic penalties that the company has incurred for missing the commitment it made to customers to cut leaks.

Sir Tony Redmond, London and South East Chair for the Consumer Council for Water, said:

“We are disappointed that it has taken this intervention from Ofwat for Thames Water to finally confront its poor performance on leakage, which is an issue customers really care about.”

“We reported in December that Thames Water had lost more than twice as much water per property each day when compared to the best performing water company. That sends completely the wrong message to consumers at a time when they are being asked to play their part in using water wisely to help protect the future of our water resources. We’ll continue to hold the company to account on its promise to improve its performance.”