Pricing
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Understanding Water and Sewerage Pricing in Tasmania
Water and sewerage services are essential to Tasmanian communities, supporting public health, environmental sustainability, and economic development.
To ensure these services are delivered at the lowest cost and prices are affordable, the Tasmanian Economic Regulator oversees the pricing of regulated water and sewerage services across the state.
Why is TasWater regulated?
Water and sewerage services providers are natural monopolies—meaning there's typically only one provider in a given area.
In Tasmania, TasWater is the sole provider of regulated services.
Because customers don't have the option to choose between providers, prices must be regulated to protect consumers from service providers potentially using their monopoly power to increase prices beyond what is necessary to recover their efficient costs. Services are also regulated to ensure they are delivered to the required standard.
The Tasmanian Economic Regulator is an independent statutory authority responsible for approving the prices TasWater can charge for regulated services. These prices are reviewed and set every four years through a transparent process that includes public consultation.
What Services are Regulated?
Regulated services include:
- Water supply: collection, treatment, and delivery of drinking water
- Sewerage services: collection and treatment of wastewater (including collection and treatment of trade waste from commercial and industrial customers.
Other services, such as water supplied for irrigation, are not regulated and are subject to separate pricing arrangements between irrigators and TasWater. Pricing for stormwater services isn't regulated either with councils responsible for the pricing and delivery of these services.
How are Prices Determined?
Prices are based on providing services at the lowest cost (ie efficient costs). The Regulator uses a method called the building block approach to assess TasWater's revenue needs. This approach also ensures that only costs that are necessary are passed on to customers (ie prudent costs).
Supporting Customers
Eligible customers may receive concessions to help meet the cost of water and sewerage services. These are administered by TasWater with financial support provided by the Tasmanian Government.
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