Ofwat has gone out to tender with a contract to procure an Independent Monitor (IM) to monitor, assess and report South East Water's progress in delivering a turnaround in their operational performance and resilience with a total estimated value of £6 million including VAT.
The water sector regulator says the costs of the independent monitor will be met by the company, and will not impact on customer bills.
The scope of the Monitor's role is intended to be consistent with undertakings accepted by Ofwat in its enforcement decisions concerning the water company’s water supply resilience and customer care during supply interruption incidents, and compliance with a licence condition requiring the company to hold two Issuer Credit Ratings that are Investment Grade Ratings.
The IM will be appointed by Ofwat, act independently of the company and provide advice and recommendations to Ofwat only, supporting the regulator’s monitoring of the company's delivery of remediation actions required under the undertakings, including the development and implementation of a Performance Improvement Plan.
The role includes provision of independent assessment of progress, governance, risk management and delivery confidence, identification of material risks to compliance and delivery - findings will be reported back to Ofwat.
The IM will support proportionate, risk-based regulatory oversight, while maintaining clear accountability with the company for delivery of the required improvements.
Current estimated start and end contract dates are 8 October 2026 to 8 October 2028 with further possible extension options up to to 8 October 2030. Estimated date of the contract award decision is 2 October 2026.
Deadline for submission of enquiries about the tender is 12:00pm on 24 August 2026 and tender submission deadline is 9:00am on 7 September 2026.
The contract is being tendered through the myTenders eProcurement portal - tender documents will be made available through the portal. ((https://www.mytenders.co.uk).
Instructions for accessing the procurement documents, submitting clarification questions and submitting tenders will be provided through the portal. Tenders submitted by email or post will not be accepted.
Bidders will be required to submit a written tender response addressing the Procurement Specific Questionnaire conditions of participation, quality and commercial requirements set out in the tender documents.
Following evaluation of written tenders, Ofwat intends to shortlist up to four bidders to participate in a Presentation and Interview Stage. Shortlisting will be based on the evaluation methodology set out in the Invitation to Tender.
Following completion of the Presentation and Interview Stage, final scores will be calculated using the published evaluation methodology and the highest scoring bidder will be invited to enter into the contract.
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