Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks IPOs and placings
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
Ofwat penalises Welsh Water over "indefensible" mistakes
(Sharecast News) - Welsh Water has been ordered to pay £40m after an investigation found the utility misled both customers and the regulator, it was confirmed on Thursday. Ofwat said its probe, formally launched in May 2023, had found that a "significant failure of governance and management oversight" had caused the company to misreport leakage and per capital consumption performance figures for five years.
In doing so, it "significantly" underplayed its poor performance, Ofwat added.
As a result, Welsh Water will provide redress of £39.4m to compensate customers. Of that, £15m has already been paid through a rebate of £10 per customer, while another £15m is absorbed additional leakage expenditure.
It will also pay an outcome delivery incentive underperformance payment for 2020-22 of £9.4m.
In addition, Welsh Water, which has 1.4m customers, has committed to invest a £59m in the current 2020-25 price review period to improve its leakage performance.
David Black, chief executive of the regulator, said: "For five years, Welsh water misled customers and regulators on its record of tackling leakage and saving water. It is simply indefensible and that is why we are making Welsh Water pay this £40m to benefit its customers.
"Today's announcement puts the industry on notice that we have the resources and will act when companies fail to meet their obligations to customers."
Pete Perry, chief executive of Welsh Water, said: "We are very sorry that this has happened.
"We proactively brought the issue to Ofwat's attention in April 2022, having identified it as part of our annual performance assurance process.
"Our review identified government and management oversight failures...which have now been addressed. Achieving the planned reduction in leakage will be challenging, but we have committed a substantial increase in expenditure in this area and strengthened the relevant operational teams to recover performance."
Welsh Water said it had been fined a nominal £1 by Ofwat having agreed the redress package.
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.
