The chief executive of South East Water, David Hinton, has resigned following criticism from Members of Parliament regarding the company’s management during recent water supply disruptions. Hinton will stay in his position temporarily to facilitate a smooth transition.
The decision was made as Hinton believed his role was becoming a hindrance to South East Water’s primary goal of ensuring a reliable water supply to its customers. This move follows the resignation of the company’s chairman, Chris Train, after MPs expressed a lack of confidence in the leadership.
South East Water faced scrutiny from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee over its handling of supply interruptions in Kent and Sussex. The disruptions included outages in Tunbridge Wells and widespread supply problems attributed to Storm Goretti.
Acknowledging the failures, Train admitted that the company had not met its fundamental objective of providing water to customers. The company now faces a substantial £22 million fine from Ofwat for supply failures impacting over 286,000 individuals between 2020 and 2023.
Additionally, it was revealed that Hinton was in line for a £400,000 bonus despite a significant pay increase while customer bills rose by 20%. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds called for leadership changes at South East Water to prioritize customer needs and prevent future supply outages.
Campaigners, including Sophie Conquest from We Own It, emphasized the need for systemic changes in the water sector to ensure public interests are safeguarded over profits. Conquest advocated for public ownership of water services, urging government intervention to address the issues at South East Water.