Failing water firm ordered to cut bills by £38 million boasted of winning FOUR awards last year

Shamed Anglian Water, among implicit a twelve firms deed by penalties, crowed astir winning manufacture gongs successful 2023

A shamed h2o steadfast ordered to manus customers tens of millions backmost via little bills boasted astir scooping FOUR manufacture gongs lone past year.

Anglian Water is among implicit a twelve companies penalised by having to chopped charges implicit mediocre performance. But we tin uncover however the failing steadfast – which has to driblet bills by £38.1 cardinal – crowed astir being fixed apical prize astatine the Water Industry Awards successful 2023.

The “lagging” company’s punishment is the 2nd highest of h2o firms forced to supply little aboriginal bills to the tune of £157.6million aft missing cardinal targets. Yet Anglian Water – which recorded a £337 cardinal operating nett successful 2023-4 – gave itself a pat connected the backmost past twelvemonth for winning nary less than 4 prizes.

But River Action CEO James Wallace said: “Anglian Water’s self-congratulation is outrageous. Not 1 h2o institution meets the h2o watchdog’s ‘leading’ standard, yet conscionable past twelvemonth Anglian Water bragged astir winning awards. The h2o assemblage is poisoning our waterways for profit, and we’re furious. That’s wherefore thousands volition rally successful London connected November 3rd for the March for Clean Water. Enough is enough.”

Alongside a representation of the awards ceremony, Anglian Water’s website crowed successful a July 2023 post: “Anglian Water is celebrating contiguous aft receiving an awesome 4 awards astatine the renowned Water Industry Awards past nighttime successful Birmingham, including the prestigious Water Company of the Year…

“The Water Industry Awards recognise the precise champion signifier from the frontline of the UK h2o assemblage with a peculiar absorption connected innovation and its applicability to the wider industry. Entries are rigorously assessed by an esteemed sheet of manufacture experts, who are looking for grounds of tangible benefits – to customers, to the environment, and to companies themselves.”

The firm’s past brag Peter Simpson said helium was “so arrogant of our achievements”. The institution won the apical prize, arsenic good arsenic being grant gongs for “Diversity and Inclusion Initiative of the Year”, “Ground breaker Award for its debased h2o commissioning attack successful its Strategic Pipeline Project” and “Partnership Project of the Year for the Beacon Project with WaterAid, and the Nepal Water Supply Corporation”.

But the firm’s show successful 2023-4 was acold from “impressive”. Anglian Water was recovered to beryllium “poorer than show committedness level” successful respective categories including leakage, drinking h2o quality, interior sewer flooding, per capita consumption, contamination incidents (category 1-3) and attraction works compliance.

Regulator Ofwat’s show report said Anglian is “a agelong mode from gathering the 2024-25 target” for contamination incidents and has “now failed to conscionable the show committedness level for 4 consecutive years”.

Ofwat says lawsuit bills volition beryllium reduced to bespeak the show penalties successful 2025-6 – with the nonstop magnitude finalised astatine the extremity of this year. Ofwat’s CEO David Black said of firms’ performance: “It is wide that companies request to alteration and that has to commencement with addressing issues of civilization and leadership. Too often we perceive that weather, 3rd parties oregon outer factors are blamed for shortcomings.”

Anglian Water says connected its website it supplies h2o and h2o recycling services to astir 7 cardinal radical successful the East of England and Hartlepool. A spokesperson for the steadfast said: “It’s important to america to champion and worth the enactment of our people, galore of whom enactment astir the timepiece immoderate the upwind & often successful precise challenging conditions, to support our services running. However, we besides recognize however this looks successful the existent clime and person taken that connected board.”