10th Jul 2025 10:05
(Alliance News) - Pennon Group PLC on Thursday said South West Water will pay an enforcement package, while water regulator Ofwat said South West Water had "recognised its failures".
Pennon, an Exeter, England-based water utility company, said its South West Water business will pay GBP24 million to be delivered between now and 2030, including GBP20 million to speed up investment to cut the number of spills at environmentally sensitive locations or within a focused community.
Further, GBP2 million will be for customers to tackle sewer misuse and mis-connections to address environmental pollution.
Another GBP2 million will be for a Nature Recovery Fund to support environmental groups to deliver measurable environmental gains.
Pennon said South West Water "has stepped up and acknowledged what has gone wrong and how it will put things right".
Pollution incidents at South West Water – which serves about 1.8 million customers in Cornwall, Devon and parts of Somerset and Dorset – had soared by 80% to 194 between 2023 and 2024.
Pennon was fined GBP2.2 million in 2023 for illegal sewage spills spanning four years across Devon and Cornwall.
In February 2025, Pennon Chief Executive Officer Susan Davy apologised to customers over pollution incidents, including the "devastating" parasite outbreak in Devon.
On Tuesday, the water watchdog in England was handed its largest-ever budget for tackling pollution, the UK government had said.
The Environment Agency, which inspects and prosecutes water firms over environmental damage, will receive a cash injection of more than GBP189 million this financial year, running to April 2026.
This is up from GBP161 million for fiscal 2025, GBP115 million for for fiscal 2024 and GBP114 million for fiscal 2023, according to government figures.
The increase comes as part of wider government efforts to crack down on polluting water firms following years of underinvestment in infrastructure and environmental measures.
Pennon shares were up 0.3% at 495.43 pence each on Thursday morning in London, giving it a market capitalisation of GBP2.34 billion.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Pennon