A draft report detailing the maximum prices that Sydney water and Water NSW can charge customers has been released by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) for public feedback.
Chair of IPART, Paul Paterson said that under the draft recommendations, Sydney Water prices would be lower when supply was plentiful and provide customers with more control over their bills.
“With current dam levels well above 60 per cent, a typical household’s bill would fall by $120 or 12 per cent,” Dr Paterson said.
“But, if Sydney returns to drought, a typical household would pay two per cent more than they currently pay if they make no adjustment to their water use,” he said.
“We propose that consumers would have more control over what they pay for water, and more incentives to reduce consumption and save money, particularly in times of drought.”
Dr Paterson said that from 1 July the price for water would be dependent on dam levels.
“If dam levels are above 60 per cent, you would pay $2.30 per kilolitre of water you consume,” he said.
“But when dam levels fall below 60 per cent, you would pay $3.12 per kilolitre to reflect the increased costs of supplying water in periods of scarcity.”
He said that under the draft recommendations the fixed or service charges would fall from over $700 a year to about $550 a year for a typical household.
Dr Paterson said feedback on the report was due by 27 April.
Further information including a 7-page overview of the draft report can be accessed on IPART’s website at this PS News link.
