Water Companies: Fines
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to prohibit water companies from passing on any fines to customers via increasing their water bills.
Answered by Emma Hardy
Ofwat are clear that when financial penalties are imposed on water companies, customers should not bear the costs and water companies cannot surcharge their customers to recover the funds.
Building on this, during its first week in office, the government announced that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers.
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