IPART final determination for Sydney Water prices
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) today announced Sydney Water’s prices for the four years to June 2016.
IPART has determined prices for Sydney Water will go up by less than the rate of inflation from 2012-13 to 2015-16.
This means the combined water and wastewater bill for a typical residential household (using 200 kL of water a year) is proposed to decrease before inflation by $29 (or 2.6%) by 2016.
If inflation is 2.5% a year, customer bills will still only rise by $72 by 2016.
Sydney Water Managing Director Kevin Young said he accepts IPART’s decision to deliver better customer value.
“We are committed to high quality service and low bills,” Mr Young said. “We know there are pressures facing customers and we intend to do all we can to ensure costs are kept low.
“IPART has set us a challenging target of making $173 million of operating efficiencies across the organisation, and we are already making changes to meet this.”
Mr Young said the prices included more than just the supply of drinking water, which represents about half of a water bill.
“We provide much more than just water from a tap. Our service includes water security, recycling, leak management, wastewater removal, and the treatment of wastewater to protect sensitive waterways and the environment.”
IPART has also introduced new price structures in its determination. Sydney Water welcomes any changes that mean fairer and more transparent pricing for customers.
Sydney Water will be communicating with customers impacted by changes in the pricing structure to help them understand what it means for them.
We recognise there are families facing financial difficulties and in response have enhanced our range of assistance options and payment arrangements. We will work with families in need and community service agencies.
Sydney Water will continue to provide customers with high quality service.
The new prices will take effect from 1 July 2012.
For more information please visit IPART’s website at http://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home
Category: Featured, Pricing News
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