Annual water fee lowered

COLIBAN Water has announced fees and charges will decrease for the 2021/22 financial year.

The new prices are a result of the five-year pricing plan submitted to the Essential Services Commission in 2018.

Manager director of Coliban Water Damian Wells said prices are reviewed regularly and have been “steady or decreasing” for several years.

“The ESC’s role as a water industry regulator is to review our price submission every five years to ensure pricing, service levels and works programs are justified, and costs and charges are fair,” he said.

“We are funded by our customers and our fees and charges are in place to recover the costs of providing services, including investment in infrastructure, to provide a standard of service customers expect and value.”

“We are busy preparing our next five-year pricing plan for submission, which involves a range of engagement with our customers over the next 12 months.”

Mr Wells said their next pricing plan will consider climate resilience, water security and population growth.

“We will speak with people from all customer segments in the development of this next pricing submission,” he said.

“We are aware of growing interest in regional living. We want to make sure that we make the right investments in water services for our communities to thrive.

“These important considerations need to be made whilst maintaining high levels of service and complying within our regulatory obligations.”

Coliban Water offers a range of support services for people struggling to make payments.

“Our focus is customer affordability, but our prices also have to reflect our investment in fit-for-purpose infrastructure to meet the challenges of climate change and growth,” Mr Wells said.