Hunter Water has welcomed the release of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) draft pricing determination, outlining the draft decisions IPART has made on the prices Hunter Water can charge for water, wastewater and stormwater services from 1 July 2025.
Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said Hunter Water’s price proposal prioritised and deferred expenditure where appropriate to limit price increases in a time of high cost of living while also including investment so Hunter Water can deliver on important customer outcomes such as water security.
“However, the Tribunal has found that prices do not need to increase as much as Hunter Water proposed,” Donnelly said.
Hunter Water Managing Director, Darren Cleary, said IPART’s Draft Report recognised Hunter Water’s efforts to balance the need to invest in critical infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers.
“We’re pleased to see IPART’s draft report acknowledges the importance of maintaining and renewing our essential services to meet the needs of a growing population and changing climate,” he said. “The draft report also recognises that our proposal has been shaped by the views and needs of our customers and community, with IPART grading our proposal as ‘Advanced’ under its framework.”
Under IPART’s draft decisions, bills for a typical household customer receiving water and wastewater services would increase, on average, by $48 (or 3.6%) plus inflation each year for 5 years from 1 July 2025. This would see typical household bills increasing from $1,241 in 2024-25 to $1,481 by 2029-30, plus inflation, which is lower than the yearly increases under Hunter Water’s proposed prices ($71 or 5.2% per year before inflation).
“The increases in draft maximum prices and bills are mainly driven by the efficient costs of new infrastructure, including the proposed Belmont desalination plant,” Ms Donnelly said. “We have set draft prices that reflect the efficient costs of Hunter Water providing its services, and have phased in these price increases over 5 years.”
“Under our draft prices, Hunter Water customers will continue to pay around the median of water bills compared to other major water businesses around Australia,” she said. “We know there are some households that may be more impacted by these prices during this time of high cost of living, and that is why we have also made recommendations to the NSW Government to increase rebates and expand eligibility for bill relief to a broader range of lower income households.”
Hunter Water also has hardship assistance programs for customers facing difficulties paying their bills.
“We’ve also strengthened our overall support for our customers experiencing financial hardship, and we’ll continue to provide a range of assistance programs and support services to help them pay their bill,” Cleary said.
IPART has invited the community to comment on the draft report during its public consultation period, between 8 April and 6 May, before making its final determination in June.
New prices will apply for the 5 years starting 1 July 2025.
More information on the draft report and how to provide feedback is available on: https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/review/water-metro-pricing/prices-hunter-water-corporation-1-july-2025
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