Response to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) draft report on prices for water, sewerage and stormwater drainage services for Hunter Water Corporation

This submission responds to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) draft prices for water, sewerage and stormwater drainage services provided by Hunter Water Corporation. In the submission, PIAC welcomes the proposed prices, which will result in decreases or modest increases for most customers. At the same time, PIAC notes that the price structures proposed by IPART do not reflect the customer preferences revealed in Hunter Water’s consumer engagement process. PIAC, therefore, requests that IPART clarify the weight that it will give to the results of such consumer engagement activities in the future. PIAC also recommends that IPART provide greater detail on operating expenditure for customer assistance programs and that the NSW Government require all utility providers to offer Centrepay to eligible customers.