Ofwat has announced it will conduct a review of the water supply issues experienced by customers across England and Wales during the recent severe weather conditions.

The water industry regulator’s review will aim to:

• Establish what caused the water supply issues experienced by household and business customers across England and Wales
• Evaluate water companies’ preparedness in the run up to the recent period of cold weather, including whether they planned ahead sufficiently to ensure they had in place the right resources and processes;
• Examine the quality of the support provided to customers, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances;
• Look at the way in which companies communicated with affected household customers and businesses; and,
• Consider the adequacy of the compensation that companies are offering affected customers.

As part of the review, Ofwat will be seeking input from a wide range of groups including: household and business customers who were directly affected by supply issues, public representatives, community organisations and local authorities.

Once the findings of the review have been published, Ofwat will consider whether any further regulatory action is needed, for example if there is any evidence that a company may have breached any of its statutory obligations or licence conditions.

Ofwat Chief Executive, Rachel Fletcher said:

“To be left without a vital public service like water - in some cases for several days - is deeply distressing, particularly for those in vulnerable circumstances. Through this review, we are aiming to get to the bottom of why this happened and to identify what lessons can be learned so customers experience minimum disruption in these kinds of circumstances in future.

“We’ll find out where companies did well by their customers and where they’ve fallen short, including the compensation being offered to those who were directly affected. Water companies should ensure that compensation adequately reflects the scale of inconvenience and distress caused to their customers. Compensation should be fair, fast and free from hassle for customers.”

The review will include a thorough assessment of the issues or problems that arose, what caused them and their impact on customers.

Ofwat will examine planning and preparation by the water companies, including whether they had advance knowledge or insight into problem areas in their networks that might be adversely impacted by the weather conditions. The review will also seek to establish what emergency plans were in place, whether they were sufficient to cope with the problems and were they appropriately enacted.

Other issues covered by the review include distribution of bottled water, speed and effectiveness of repairs, communication and support, including identification of vulnerable customers, ongoing support and compensation.

Ofwat will work with the Consumer Council for Water during the review and liaise with Defra and Welsh Government and publish its conclusions by 15 June 2018.