British water companies will be forced to repay a net £67m to customers after the regulator penalised them for missing performance targets.
Thames Water, the supplier to London and the Thames Valley, will have to pay back £53m to its customers, the biggest charge under the regulator Ofwat’s system of rewards and penalties. Southern Water, which runs services from Kent to Hampshire, will repay £46m, while South West Water will repay £15m.
Water companies hold a monopoly on supply in their areas, meaning customers are unable to switch to a competitor if they are dissatisfied with the service provided. Instead, the regulator has devised the system of fines to ensure the companies, many of which are privately owned, have an incentive to invest
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