THE average annual water bill for a household in Lake Macquarie is set to drop by about $100 next year, after inflation.
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That's the expectation following the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) draft determination on what Hunter Water can charge its customers from July 1.
Under IPART's draft prices, combined water, wastewater and stormwater bills for typical customers in houses, including pensioners, would fall from $1318 in 2019-20, to $1214 in 2020-21, and then increase by around 3 per cent per year until 2023-24.
Bills for typical customers in apartments would also fall from $979 in 2020-2021, to $882 in 2020-21, and then increase by around 5 per cent per year until 2023-24.
The draft determination proposes that Hunter Water invests $663 million on new and upgraded infrastructure, technology and services over the next four years.
IPART chair, Dr Paul Paterson, said that increased efficiencies and lower interest rates meant the draft prices would save Hunter Water's customers compared to what Hunter Water originally proposed.
"While the draft prices are lower than what Hunter Water had proposed, we have largely accepted Hunter Water's expenditure proposals with the additional savings coming primarily from lower interest rates," Dr Paterson said.
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"We have accepted the need to boost Hunter Water's capital expenditure allowance so it can continue meeting environmental and service standards, service population growth, maintain the condition of its assets, and fund enhancements to its customers' experience, such as the introduction of digital billing."
Under the draft prices, a typical household using 189 kilolites of water per year would save around $70 per year if it reduced its water consumption by 15 per cent.
The structure of the draft prices would give customers more control over their bill, while at the same time encouraging water conservation, Dr Paterson said.
Hunter Water said its customers would benefit from increased investment in the region's water and wastewater infrastructure.
"IPART's draft determination is welcome news for our residential customers," Hunter Water's executive manager of customer strategy and retail, Victor Prasad, said.
"It shows the typical residential bill will decrease by 8 per cent in the first year, followed by increases of 3 per cent for the next three years, meaning the cost will remain relatively unchanged over the four years, even after forecast inflation of 2.5 per cent is applied."
Hunter Water said it welcomed IPART's support for it to spend $6 million on new recycled water infrastructure, and an additional $11.3 million on stormwater naturalisation works.
Public submissions on the draft determination are welcome until Thursday, April 9, via the IPART website at ipart.nsw.gov.au
IPART's final determination is expected in June, with new prices to start from July 1.
