PIAC responded to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) 2021 Review of WaterNSW’s Murray River to Broken Hill Pipeline Prices Issues Paper.
We advised we do not see evidence of long-term planning in WaterNSW’s proposal. The implications of connection and pricing policies, and the risks to availability of the water sources the pipeline draws, have not been adequately considered. It is also necessary to better consider how this process and Essential Water’s pricing review can be better aligned to support long-term sustainability and affordability.
Accordingly, PIAC recommended IPART consider how the limitations of water resources in the Murray-Darling system can be incorporated into the pricing structure to better mitigate future resource availability risks.
