IPART has released draft maximum prices that Essential Water can charge for its water and wastewater services in the Broken Hill region from 1 July 2026.
Tribunal member Jonathan Coppel said IPART’s draft decision is to cap residential bill increases so that the annual bill for a typical household would increase by 4.7% plus inflation each year, for the next 5 years.
“Under the draft decisions, bills for a typical household customer receiving water and wastewater services would increase by $76, from $1,624 to $1,700 in 2026-27 plus inflation,” Mr Coppel said.
“However, bill impacts will vary depending on household type and water use.”
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.
Mr Coppel said the Tribunal had considered affordability concerns raised by customers and stakeholders.
“We know that many households and businesses are dealing with cost-of-living pressures, and affordability was a key theme in the feedback we received on our issues paper and from our public
hearing,” he said.
“Our affordability analysis showed that full cost recovery would require bill increases of around $156, or 8.2%, per year plus inflation.
“The Tribunal aims to balance customers’ affordability concerns with the need to set prices so Essential Water can efficiently invest in infrastructure and services to deliver services that meet customer needs
and expectations in the future.”
IPART has also released draft maximum prices that WaterNSW can charge for bulk water delivery via the Murray River to Broken Hill Pipeline.
The annual bill for WaterNSW's Pipeline services to Essential Water would increase by about 20% plus inflation. However, this bill is expected to continue to be covered by the NSW Government. This means the price increase would not be passed on to Essential Water customers for the coming pricing period.
Mr Coppel said the Tribunal encouraged customers and stakeholders in the Broken Hill area to share their views on both sets of draft prices through the IPART website.
Draft reports on maximum prices for Essential Water and the Broken Hill Pipeline are now available from www.ipart.nsw.gov.au. We welcome feedback from interested stakeholders via submission or IPART’s customer survey by 28 April 2026.
Media Contact: Mark O’Brien
0427 105 865