Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – Today, the Government introduced stringent new regulations aimed at addressing shortcomings by water companies. Under the updated plan, both households and businesses will be eligible for increased compensation from water providers and in a broader range of situations when essential water services are disrupted.
The proposals, announced by Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, will significantly enhance reimbursement rates. Customers will see their legal entitlement to compensation doubled for failures to meet key service standards.
Pending an eight-week consultation, the new measures will increase payments for all current standards and more than double the compensation for particularly disruptive events, such as failure to notify about supply interruptions or missing scheduled appointments with customers.
Additionally, the government is set to widen the scope of scenarios that trigger compensation, including automatic payments for boil water notices when drinking water quality declines or when water companies neglect to perform meter readings or installations as promised.
A boil water notice requires boiling water before drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth. Under the new rules, recent disruptions in Brixham and Bramley would have automatically resulted in compensation for all affected customers, a benefit not available on prior occasions.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed says “Our water industry is broken.”
“After years of failure, households and businesses have been let down by water companies time and time again.”
Today’s proposals to substantially boost reimbursement highlight the necessity of adjusting payments to match inflation and acknowledge the substantial effects of recent water supply disruptions on communities such as Hastings, Brixham, and Bramley. This approach aims to ensure that fair and transparent customer service remains central to water company operations when fundamental services are affected.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has contributed to today’s consultation after conducting their own review of the standards. The consultation will begin today and continue until October 7. A government response will be issued after the consultation period concludes.
The government has announced additional legislation will be introduced in due course to fundamentally overhaul the water sector and rejuvenate the rivers, lakes, and seas.
Essential services such as electricity, water, and gas have often faced tighter regulations across the world as any disruption could have far reaching consequences.
