Water company merger gets green light

Ofwat has officially given the green light to the planned merger between South East Water and Mid Kent Water.

The water regulator has allowed South East Water to take over as the service provider for nearly 250,000 customers in the Kent area following a consultation last month.

The move was approved by the Competition Commission in May on the condition that the merged company should reduce its customers’ bills by £4m for 2008-09 – the equivalent of nearly £5 per customer.

It also ruled that price limits at the next price review in 2009 should reflect the benefit of a £3.1m reduction in South East Water’s operating costs.

Kate Martin