For a company with such regular issues with outages, South East Water’s approach to supporting vulnerable customers gives the impression of a business caught completely by surprise. We accept that it is challenging to continuously update the Priority Services Register: people will not always inform you of vulnerabilities, transient or permanent. However, the fact that there were fundamental problems with deliveries for those that were on the PSR is indicative of a problematic approach, one that fails to record and consider the needs of customers. Moreover, vulnerable sites such as care homes were also let down, which should have been easily identifiable, had proper business continuity plans been in place. Again, the specific needs of these sites should not have been a surprise: the company’s history of outages should have given it a wealth of experience in where needs are greatest. (Conclusion, Paragraph 51) 41 A culture of failure