Review of Hunter Water prices from July 2020 Alternative formats available on request to PIAC - Contact PIAC
PIAC responded to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) Review of Prices for Hunter Water Corporation from July 2020 Issues Paper.
At the time of consultation IPART had reserved its position on a number of key issues pending assessments from independent consultants. Consequently, PIAC focussed on a number of key issues of principle, and responded, at a principle level, to stakeholder questions on issues we regard as priorities for IPART consideration.
We highlight that a better framework is urgently needed to respond to climate change and the scarcity of water resources, and identify shortcomings of Hunter Water’s existing approach of average and exceptional circumstances.
We strongly recommend that pricing should reflect the long-term scarcity of water and recommend IPART implement an Inclining Block Tariff (IBT) structure as part of an approach that recognises water is finite and subject to increasingly uncertain supply and access.