What is the EFRA Committee hearing about?

MPs are examining the 14-day do-not-use incident in Tunbridge Wells, testing South East Water on planning, response, and customer protection. They will also question the Drinking Water Inspectorate on oversight and safety standards. Outcomes could shape guidance on emergency supplies, timelines, and governance across UK water companies.

What happened during the Tunbridge Wells outage?

Residents faced a do-not-use notice for 14 days, with heavy reliance on bottled water and support sites. Services and small firms were disrupted. The company is expected to explain triggers for the notice, how it protected vulnerable customers, and steps taken to restore normal supply safely and quickly.

What could change for South East Water after the hearing?

Depending on findings, the company may face enforcement actions, tighter monitoring, and mandated improvement plans. It could also commit to higher resilience investment and clearer reporting on incident readiness. Strong delivery against milestones would help rebuild trust and reduce the likelihood of repeat failures.

How might this affect investors in UK water utilities?

Expect higher resilience capex needs and closer scrutiny of service metrics. Penalty exposure may rise if performance falls short. Clear, phased upgrade plans and good transparency can support stability. Investors should track outage indicators, compensation handling, and regulator statements to judge risk and delivery momentum.

What should we monitor in the weeks ahead?

Watch the EFRA session follow-ups, the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s next steps, and South East Water’s remediation plan with dates and budgets. Track progress on supply interruptions, customer minutes lost, and incident response times. Improvements on these indicators will signal lower operational risk and stronger service resilience.

Law and Government

January 06: MPs Grill South East Water Over 14-Day Outage, Sector Risks

ByDanny Kontos January 6, 2026January 6, 2026

South East Water faces MPs today over a 14-day do-not-use incident in Tunbridge Wells. The EFRA Committee hearing will question leadership, incident response, and customer protection. The Drinking Water Inspectorate will explain oversight and water safety rules. Investors in UK utilities will focus on penalties, higher capex, and tighter standards. We outline what the session could trigger for South East Water and the wider sector, and what signals to monitor in the weeks ahead.