IPART will extend its review of prices that Sydney Water is proposing to charge by 3 months to ensure all aspects of the proposal can be given appropriate consideration.
Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said Sydney Water had submitted its pricing proposal which outlined its proposed costs and prices for the 5 years from 2025 to 2030 and how it plans to deliver customer outcomes.
“Sydney Water is proposing large cost and price increases,” Ms Donnelly said.
“It proposes total bill increases of 18% next year then 7% in each of the following 4 years, plus inflation.”
“IPART recognises that people rely on safe reliable and good quality water and wastewater services, but the community is also experiencing cost of living pressures. We have recently received over 400 submissions on the Sydney Water pricing proposal, most of which express concern over the affordability of the proposed increases. We expect to publish the non-confidential submissions in early 2025.”
“The Tribunal will thoroughly examine the proposed costs and prices. We will carefully consider the impacts of the pricing proposal on household budgets, service standards, the environment, and the economy more broadly.”
“Our review will also examine how Sydney Water proposes to invest in and maintain critical infrastructure and we will assess the effectiveness of existing rebates to assist customers,”
To ensure all these factors can be considered thoroughly, the Tribunal has decided to extend its review of Sydney Water prices by 3 months, which will mean the prices determined at the end of the review would apply from 1 October 2025. We expect to publish a draft report with our draft pricing decisions in May 2025 and will invite consultation from all stakeholders at that time.
IPART is also reviewing the pricing proposals from Hunter Water, WaterNSW and the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) for 2025 to 2030.
“At this stage, we do not foresee a need to change the timeline for the review of Hunter Water’s prices.” Ms Donnelly said.
“We are currently considering WaterNSW and WAMC’s pricing proposals and will make decisions regarding the timing of these reviews in the new year.”