IPART has completed its review and has set the maximum prices Hunter Water can charge customers to provide water, wastewater, stormwater, and other water-related services. The prices will apply from 1 July 2025 for 5 years.
We have published our Final Report
Under our maximum prices, bills for a typical household customer receiving water and wastewater services will increase:
- In 2025-26 by $54 (or 4.4%) before we add inflation. After we add inflation these bills will increase by around $86 (or 6.9%) in 2025-26. This would see typical bills increasing from $1,241 in 2024-25 to $1,326 in 2025-26. This is lower than the increase under Hunter Water’s proposed prices (of $105 or 8.5%, including inflation).
- In the subsequent 4 years, typical bills will increase on average by $53 (or 3.8%) each year, before we add inflation. This is lower than Hunter Water’s proposed increases of $73 (or 5.0%) each year plus inflation.
In reaching our decisions we considered expert advice from Houston Kemp on the efficient level of Hunter Water’s operating and capital expenditure. We also took into account all feedback received from stakeholders, our legislative responsibilities, and the following factors as required by the NSW Government:
- the cost-of-living impacts of Hunter Water’s prices
- the effectiveness of existing rebates to manage the social impacts of Hunter Water’s prices
- opportunities to adjust project timelines to minimise price impacts and, if necessary, to reduce the proposed capital programs in line with least cost planning principles
- deliverability of the proposed capital plans based on capability and market conditions.
Our decisions accept most of Hunter Water’s proposal and reflect the efficient costs of Hunter Water providing its services. We found that Hunter Water’s pricing proposal balanced the need to limit price increases in a time of high cost of living with continued investment to maintain critical assets and deliver on priority customer outcomes.
You can use our bill calculator to find out what our decisions could mean for you.
We thank all stakeholders for their input
We thank all stakeholders for their time and effort throughout this review to provide us with their views on Hunter Water’s prices. We have considered all feedback in making our final decisions and recommendations