Under the business’s proposed plan, over the five years to 2028, customer prices will fall for most rural districts, with falls of around 6.4 per cent for the Mildura High Pressure district and 5.4 per cent for the Robinvale district.
For urban services, customer bills will rise by around 0.3 per cent each year on average, with a typical annual water and sewerage bills for households increasing from around $1,018 currently to around $1,033 in 2027-28, before inflation.
The commission’s director of pricing Mr Marcus Crudden says Lower Murray Water has committed to focus on maintaining and upgrading existing water networks to support high quality and reliable services across the region in its pricing proposal.
“Lower Murray Water will also invest to increase the resilience of its infrastructure to deal with challenges including climate change and population growth,” Mr Crudden said.
The commission generally accepts Lower Murray Water’s proposed pricing plan, but has requested further information ahead of its final decision about how the business intends to address the impacts of relatively high inflation on its proposed prices and customer bills.
“It’s important that water businesses continue to invest in initiatives to better support customers experiencing payment difficulties. We encourage all customers to contact their water business if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss what assistance or arrangements can be made,” Mr Crudden said.
The commission invites customers and stakeholders to have their say on the draft decision. A public forum will be held on 20 April 2023; details will be published on the Engage Victoria website. Written comments and submissions can also be lodged on the Engage Victoria website until 9 May 2023.
“The Essential Services Commission thanks customers and stakeholders for their submissions and participation to date. We value and encourage feedback on this next stage to help inform our final decision on Lower Murray Water’s 2023-28 pricing proposal,” Mr Crudden said.
The commission’s final decision on the Lower Murray Water pricing proposal is due in June 2023.
