Price Submission: Final Determination

The Essential Services Commission (ESC) has made its determination on our Price Submission.

This determination on our Price Submission covers our service standards, prices and tariffs from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2023.

The ESC, the independent economic regulator of the water sector in Victoria, assessed our submission against a new performance model that places a high importance on customer engagement and value for money.

Based on extensive customer engagement we developed a Pricing Submission that delivers the following outcomes:

  • Services to homes and businesses are safe, reliable and efficiently delivered
  • Customer service is accessible and enquiries are promptly resolved
  • Billing and payment options are efficient and convenient
  • Customers in hardship are supported
  • The whole of the water cycle is managed in an environmentally sustainable way
  • We are a valued partner in servicing a growing Melbourne.

Who we consulted

Our Price Submission was developed based on asking customers what matters to them and how we can better meet their expectations.

To do this we ran a wide-reaching engagement program that was open to all of our customers.

Our 2018 Pricing Submission builds on the efficiencies we’ve achieved over the past five years, so we could deliver real price reductions for all of our customers.

 

Prices for Residential customers

Residential charges Units FY2017–2018 FY2018–2019 Price change
Residential Water Tariff
Water network charge per year $231.20 $231.16 0.0%
Water usage charges
Block 1: first 440 litres of
water used per day		 per kilolitre $2.4440 $2.4904 1.9%
Block 2: water usage above
440 litres per day		 per kilolitre $2.8766 $2.9312 1.9%
Residential Sewerage Tariff        
Sewerage network charge per year $256.56 $256.52 0.0%
Sewage disposal charge per kilolitre $1.8805 $0.8348 -55.6%
Residential Recycled Water Tariff
Recycled water network charge per year $30.52 $30.52 0.0%
Recycled water usage charge per kilolitre $2.4440 $2.4904 1.9%

average household bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The graph shows decrease of average household water bill from year 2013 to year 2018.

In addition to reducing the average household water bill, we are committed to delivering a range of services that our customers have told us they want.

Over the next five years (2018-23) we will be delivering:

  • The lowest average residential water bill of any metropolitan city in Australia
  • Reduced response time on email enquiries from 10 days to 1 day
  • A stormwater harvesting fund to increase the number of stormwater projects in local communities
  • 75% of calls resolved of first contact
  • More ways that you can contact us, with new digital and self-service channels
  • Assistance to customers experiencing hardship
  • Increasing many of the Guaranteed Service Level rebates (an amount credited to your account if we fail to meet our service targets).

 

Supporting customers in hardship

We aim to support customers experiencing hardship or the impacts of family violence. We will do all we can to ensure they are aware of and can access the support services available.

We will also take the following actions:

  • Maintain current hardship processes including referrals, payment plans and water efficiency assistance programs including Water Assist
  • Continue to implement programs to support customers or employees affected by family violence, including specialised frontline training for staff
  • For customers with a verified and fixed leak, charge the wholesale cost of water (rather than the normal cost) for the estimated volume of water lost due to the leak, reducing the impact on bills.

 

Prices for Non-residential customers

Non-residential charges  Units   FY2017–2018  FY2018–2019  Price change
Non-residential Water Tariff
Water network charge  per year  $336.76  $336.72  0.0%
Water usage charges  per kilolitre  $2.7186  $2.5970  -4.5%
Non-residential Sewerage Tariff
Sewerage network charge  per year  $453.08  $453.04  0.0%
Sewage disposal charge  per kilolitre  $1.8294  $1.7068  -6.7%

Whether you are a big business or a small one, a council or a school, we recognise the essential role our non-residential customers play in supporting Melbourne’s west.

As well as providing lower prices, we are committed to delivering a range of services to our commercial and industrial customer base that our customers have told us they want.

Non-res engagement infographic

Over the next five years (the regulatory period 2018-23) we are committed to:

  • Implementing a non-residential account contact line and specialist contact team to help business customers access the assistance they need
  • Reducing response times on email enquiries from 10 days to 1 day
  • Working with industrial customers to explore ways to extract value from waste and continuing to move from a ‘waste treatment and disposal’ to a ‘resource recovery’ approach
  • Continuing to simplify and streamline trade waste pricing and billing processes
  • Establishing more ways that you can contact us, with new digital and self-service channels
  • Developing a separate customer charter for our business customers that focuses on issues that matter most to them.
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