South East Water could lose operating licence after outages in Kent and Sussex

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 4 min read 100% complete by Helena Horton Environment reporterJanuary 14, 2026 at 06:41 PM

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long article 4 min

South East Water is facing potential loss of its operating license after recent water outages in Kent and Sussex left thousands of residents without water for up to a week. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has requested that Ofwat, the regulator, review the company's license, potentially leading to a special administration regime and the search for a new buyer. The outages, affecting areas like Tunbridge Wells, are attributed to leaks in the company's aging pipe system, exacerbated by bad weather. South East Water CEO David Hinton is under pressure to resign, facing criticism for his handling of the crises and his compensation package. Ofwat could impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's annual turnover if a breach of license is found but revocation is avoided.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

NatWest Group Pension Fund 30% Mike Martin 40% Thames Water 50% David Hinton ×470% Sussex 70% Kent ×270% Emma Reynolds ×270% Tunbridge Wells ×480% Ofwat ×480% South East Water ×590%

Keywords

water outages 100% south east water 90% operating licence 80% ofwat 70% water supply 60% special administration regime 50% tunbridge wells 50% ageing pipe system 40% emma reynolds 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Tunbridge Wells

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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water outages south east water operating licence ofwat water supply special administration regime tunbridge wells ageing pipe system emma reynolds

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