Yorkshire Water must refund customers £36m over poor performance

Yorkshire Water has been ordered to return £36m to customers via lower bills next year after missing key targets on issues like pollution and leaks.

Industry regulator Ofwat revealed the rebate today – 8 October – following its annual review of water and wastewater companies’ performance in England and Wales.

In total, England and Wales water utility companies – including Yorkshire Water – have been ordered to return £158m to customers.

Ofwat examined the performance of the 17 largest water and wastewater companies in England and Wales against targets, for issues such as sewer flooding, supply interruptions and water leaks.

Following the regulator’s latest assessment, only Thames Water (£56.8m) and Anglian Water (£38.1m) must pay back more to customers than Yorkshire Water.

Yorkshire Water was one of four companies which had their performance assessed as improving from “lagging behind” to “average”.

But companies’ failure to comply with responsibilities to deal with wastewater led to Ofwat proposing enforcement penalties on Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and Northumbrian Water totalling £168m.

Ofwat CEO, David Black, said: “This year’s performance report is stark evidence that money alone will not bring the sustained improvements customers rightly expect.

“It is clear companies need to change and that has to start with addressing issues of culture and leadership. Too often we hear that weather, third parties or external factors are blamed for shortcomings.

“Companies must implement actions now to improve performance, be more dynamic, agile and on the front foot of issues. And not wait until the Government or regulators tell them to act.

“As we look towards the next price control, the challenge for water companies is to match the investment with the changes in company culture and performance that are essential to deliver lasting change.”

A Yorkshire Water spokesman responded: “Last year, we made some great improvements in reducing leakage, which we know is a key area that our customers care about. We’re pleased this work has been recognised and our performance rating has been improved by Ofwat. ​

“We also made progress versus the rest of the industry in how our customers perceived us and we are continuing with this improvement this year. We have delivered a significant increase in registering customers who may need extra help from us and made substantial investment in our wastewater network and continue to do so.

“Unfortunately, in other areas we did not meet some of our commitments and as a result, our customers will receive an adjustment to our bills from April next year.

“Despite this, we remain committed to doing right by our customers and delivering more of what they expect. We are in the process of investing almost £800m in our infrastructure across the region this year, which includes £180m to reduce storm overflow use and improve water quality in our region’s rivers – another key area our customers really care about. ​

“Making long-term, lasting change takes time, but we are committed to doing more of what our customers expect and will publish a service commitment plan in November.

“We have also submitted plans to Ofwat outlining our largest ever environment investment between 2025 and 2030 and we look forward to their decision and delivering in the next five years.”