Canberrans can expect to pay less for their water and sewerage services from 1 July following the release of the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission’s (ICRC) annual update of the maximum prices that Icon Water can charge.
Senior Commissioner at ICRC, Joe Dimasi said the maximum water and sewerage charges for 2022–23 would decline by 2.2 per cent for residential customers and 4.5 per cent for non-residential customers.
“An average residential customer consuming 200 kilolitres of water per annum will see a saving in their annual water and sewerage services bill of $26,” Mr Dimasi said.
“The decrease in the water usage charge reflects a lower cost of debt, lower than forecast water abstraction charge due to wet weather conditions, and an adjustment to account for an over-recovery of the 2019–20 water abstraction charge,” he said.
“Combined these more than offset inflation.”
Mr Dimasi said the Precinct Charge that developers pay to Icon Water to fund infrastructure upgrades would also decrease to $1,094 per equivalent population, down from $1,200 in 2021–22.
He said the decrease reflected Icon Water’s changes in equivalent population projection methodology as well as input data to capture the impact of the pandemic and reflect the higher level of infill proposed in the 2018 ACT Planning Strategy.
Following the ICRC update, Icon Water said for a typical household using 200 kilolitres of water per year, the price decrease would equate to a savings of roughly 50 cents per week.
“We understand some customers may need extra help paying their bills from time to time,” Icon Water said.
“We have a range of flexible payment options available to support people seeking temporary or longer-term financial assistance that can be tailored to suit individual needs.”
The ICRC’s 27-page Regulated water and sewerage services: 2022–23 price adjustment can be accessed at this PS News link and information on Icon Water’s financial hardship program at this link.
