Below we present key information on our draft decisions for Water NSW’s rural bulk water services for customers in the Gwydir valley. This information is not exhaustive and should be viewed in conjunction with our Draft Report and Draft Determination.

Draft decision on costs for the Gwydir valley

Under our draft decisions, Water NSW’s costs are higher than those used to set prices for the 2017 Determination. The customer share of:

  • operating expenditure for Gwydir valley has increased by 9.8% but is 23.5% lower than proposed by Water NSW
  • capital expenditure for Gwydir valley has increased by 15.7% but is 64.7% lower than proposed by Water NSW.

Offsetting these increases, the cost of capital has decreased from 3.1% to 1.3%.

Draft decision on customer share of revenue requirement for Gwydir valley over 2021 Determination

Notes: Data has been rounded to the nearest percentage - total may not sum to 100% due to rounding. UOM is the pay-back of "unders and overs mechanism" balance from the 2014-17 regulatory period.
Data source: IPART analysis.

What drives the change in costs for Gwydir valley since the 2017 determination period?

Data source: IPART analysis.

Draft decision on prices for the Gwydir valley

Under the ACCC rules, we are required to set prices for Water NSW that recover its full efficient costs of providing its bulk water services (net of any Government contributions). The table below sets out our draft decision on Water NSW’s prices, as well as prices that would recover Water NSW’s proposed costs on a 4 year full cost recovery (FCR) basis.

Draft decision on bulk water charges – Gwydir valley ($/ML, $2021-22)

Current 2020-21 ($2020-21) 4 year FCR Proposed Draft Report Change current to proposed Change current to Draft Report Draft Report to proposed
High security $11.93 $19.70 $16.28 65.1% 36.5% -17.4%
General security $3.75 $4.57 $3.78 21.9% 0.8% -17.3%
Usage $12.79 $17.86 $14.82 39.6% 15.9% -17.0%

Note: Water NSW’s proposed prices are based on prices that recover Water NSW’s proposed costs over a 4 year period on a full cost recovery basis.
Source: Water NSW proposal and IPART analysis.

Indicative bills under our draft decisions for the Gwydir valley

The table below shows indicative bills for 2021-22 under our draft decisions, as well as indicative bills that would arise from Water NSW’s proposed prices (based on full cost recovery over 4 years).

Indicative annual bulk water bills for Gwydir valley ($2021-22)

Estimated entitlements (ML) Estimated usage (% of entitlement) Current 2020-21 ($2020-21) 4 year FCR Proposed Draft Report Change current to proposed Change current to Draft Report Draft Report to proposed
High Security
Small user 15 90% $352 $537 $444 52.6% 26.3% -17.2%
Medium user 100 90% $2,344 $3,577 $2,962 52.6% 26.4% -17.2%
Large user 5,000 90% $117,205 $178,870 $148,090 52.6% 26.4% -17.2%
General Security
Small user 30 30% $228 $298 $247 30.9% 8.4% -17.1%
Medium user 1,000 30% $7,587 $9,928 $8,226 30.9% 8.4% -17.1%
Large user 7,000 30% $53,109 $69,496 $57,582 30.9% 8.4% -17.1%

Source: Water NSW proposal and IPART analysis.

The indicative bills shown below represent indicative bills combining Water NSW’s prices for its bulk water services and the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation’s (WAMC’s) prices for its water management services.

High security bills for Gwydir valley (medium user)

Note: We used actual entitlement numbers and allocations data in defining “small", "medium" and "large" users. We note this differs to the approach we used for our Issues Paper valley-specific information. See our WAMC Draft Report for further information on WAMC bills.
Data source: Water NSW proposal and IPART analysis.

General security bills for Gwydir valley (medium user)

Note: We used actual entitlement numbers and allocations data in defining “small", "medium" and "large" users. We note this differs to the approach we used for our Issues Paper valley-specific information. See our WAMC Draft Report for further information on WAMC bills.

Data source: Water NSW proposal and IPART analysis.

Return to map

Water NSW’s proposed costs, prices and indicative bills as presented in our Issues Paper released in September 2020