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

Lowbidgee valley – Water NSW rural bulk water services draft decisions

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

Draft decision on costs for the Lowbidgee 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 Lowbidgee valley has increased by 74.3% but is 27.4% lower than proposed by Water NSW
  • capital expenditure for Lowbidgee valley has decreased by 41.3% and is 5.8% lower than proposed by Water NSW.

The cost of capital has also decreased from 3.1% to 1.3%.

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

Note: 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 Lowbidgee valley since the 2017 determination period?

Data source: IPART analysis.

Draft decision on prices for the Lowbidgee 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 – Lowbidgee 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
General security 1 172% $1 $1 $1 -14.0%

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 Lowbidgee 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 Lowbidgee valley ($2021-22)

Estimated entitlements (ML) Current 2020-21 ($2020-21) 4 year FCR Proposed Draft Report Change current to proposed Change current to Draft Report Draft Report to proposed
General Security
Small user 500 $420 $860 $740 104.8% 76.2% -14.0%
Medium user 2,000 $1,680 $3,440 $2,960 104.8% 76.2% -14.0%
Large user 100,000 $84,000 $172,000 $148,000 104.8% 76.2% -14.0%

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.

General security bills for Lowbidgee 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.

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