IPART sets the maximum prices that Essential Water can charge its customers for water and wastewater services.
We also set the maximum prices that WaterNSW can charge customers for water transportation services provided by the Murray River to Broken Hill Pipeline.
The prices we set for both reviews will apply from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2031.
We have published our Draft Report
For residential customers our draft decision is to cap water and wastewater charges. Under our draft maximum prices, bills for a typical household (using 250 kL per year) would increase by an average of $84 (or 4.7%) plus inflation each year over the next 5 years. Bills for a typical household would increase by $76, from $1,624 to $1,700 in 2026-27 plus inflation.
This is less than the yearly increases under Essential Water’s proposed price increases of $342 or 15.5% per year (plus inflation). Bills would be on average 27.0% less each year than under Essential Water’s proposed prices.
IPART’s draft decision to cap residential bill increases means that Essential Water will not be able to recover full efficient costs through prices. This shortfall is estimated at $12.6 million (plus inflation) over the next 5 years and would require a government contribution to supplement Essential Water’s income.
Our affordability analysis showed that full cost recovery would require bill increases of around $156, or 8.2%, per year plus inflation.
For non-residential customers our draft decision is to set full cost recovery prices. This means non-residential bill increases will be higher to recover their full share of efficient costs, ranging between 2.8% to 10.9% (before inflation), depending on customer type and water use.
In reaching our draft decisions, we considered:
- the factors under the IPART Act we are required to take into account
- expert advice from Stantec on Essential Water’s efficient capital and operating expenditure in delivering water and wastewater services
- all feedback we received from stakeholders at our Public Hearing, through submissions to our Issues Paper and from responses to our Issues Paper survey.
Our draft decisions aim to balance customer affordability with the need to protect services by providing Essential Water with adequate funding to meet its regulatory obligations and deliver customer outcomes in relation to water and wastewater services.
We thank all stakeholders for their input
We sought feedback on our draft decisions and recommendations between 30 March and 28 April 2026. We thank all stakeholders for their input during this period. We will consider all feedback received before preparing and releasing our Final Report on Essential Water’s prices for water and wastewater services to apply from 1 July 2026.