SA Water has submitted a draft plan to ESCOSA, the SA’s essential services regulatory commission that would see an increase in prices by an average of 3.5% on top of inflation from July 2024.
This is based on a projected 2.2% increase in water prices and a 5.8% increase in sewerage prices, excluding inflation.
SA Water says the changes are required to maintain the standards of their services into the future.
Changes in the dollar value of your bill will depend on the type of business.
SA Water estimates the average commercial bill for a metropolitan property will increase by $289 per year, and $250 for the average commercial country property.
SA Water lists the typical business as one that “uses 983 kL of water annually and has an average property value of $1,516,000 in 2022 – 23.”
Water-intensive businesses can expect to pay more.
SA Water says those commercial bills for businesses that are “very high water use” (11,533 kL per year) can expect prices to rise $1,663 per year until 2028.
Households will also see a price jump. SA Water says the typical metropolitan residential customer bill will increase by approximately $71 per year until 2028.
The specifics of these modifications were located at the conclusion of SA Water’s extensive 306-page 2024 – 28 Regulatory Business Plan.
Unfortunately, this introduces an additional onerous expense businesses will need to grapple with, coinciding with a period where the South Australian Business Chamber’s quarterly survey reflects the Cost of Overheads Index nearing its historical peak at 152.3 points out of a maximum of 166.
The South Australian Business Chamber understands ESCOSA will release its draft determination in response to SA Water’s business plan next month and final decisions on the plan and prices will be made before the start of the next financial year.
The South Australian Business Chamber sits on the Community Advisory Committee of the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) and engages with SA Water. We will keep abreast of changes that will impact on your business.
