IPART has finalised its annual review of WaterNSW’s regulated charges for bulk water services to apply from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. The charges will apply to the 9 valleys in the Murray‑Darling Basin and the Fish River Water Supply Scheme.
Our decision is to accept WaterNSW’s annual pricing application to maintain the charges set under the 2021 Determination. This means charges will increase by inflation only (currently 5.1%) from 1 July 2022.
Although there have been some recent changes in demand, these are unlikely to be sustained based on the information available. Therefore, we see no evidence to vary rural charges for 2022-23 except for inflation. We consider that it is too early to know what impact the recent floods in NSW will have on water sales.
We will continue to use our annual reviews to monitor changes in demand. If we see any evidence of a sustained shift in demand or an opportunity to improve price stability, we will consider updating charges.