Wyndham households will enjoy cheaper water if an Essential Services Commission (ESC) draft decision on water services pricing is adopted.
The Essential Services Commission has released its draft decision on GWW’s proposed prices for water services for the four-year period starting on July 1, 2024.
This is GWW’s first price review, following the merger of the former City West Water and Western Water businesses in 2021.
GWW’s service area covers all of Melbourne’s north and west, stretching from the CBD to Wyndham, Moorabool and the Macedon Ranges.
The ESC said GWW’s proposal leads to a decrease in a typical annual customer bill for most customers.
The proposal projects that by the 2027-28 financial year, typical water and sewerage bills for houses in GWW’s central region, which includes Wyndham, with an average 150 kilolitre per-annum consumption would reduce by $20 for renters and by $2 for homeowners.
Renters bills in Wyndham would drop from the current price of $531 to $511, while homeowners bills would experience a drop from $1007 to $996 in the first year of operation before rising back to $1005 in 2027-28.
The commission’s executive director of pricing Marcus Crudden said GWW will deliver several key initiatives to support customer value.
“Among its key initiatives, Greater Western Water will increase investment in assets to maintain service quality and reliability, responding to challenges from climate change and population growth, he said.
“Given ongoing cost of living pressures it is pleasing to see the business commit to increased financial support those experiencing hardship.
Mr Crudden said the commission’s draft decision was open for feedback to inform a final decision on prices to be released in June.
“Our draft decision proposes some reductions to Greater Western Water’s forecast costs and also seeks more information in other areas including new customer contributions, to inform our final decision,” he said.
The draft decision is open for feedback on Engage Victoria until May 7 and the commission will hold a public forum on May 2.
Details: https://engage.vic.gov.au/ESC-water-price-review-2024
