TasWater to review sewerage tariffs after bill increases — ABC News Australia
Australian water utility TasWater in the state of Tasmania will review fixed sewerage tariffs for some businesses and sports clubs that have faced significant bill increases. The changes are intended to reduce the impact of the new billing system, ABC News reports.
New calculation method
From 1 July, TasWater began determining the fixed sewerage charge based on the size of a property's water connection rather than the actual volume of wastewater. The company acknowledged that the shift to this approach had unintended consequences for customers with large water connections who at the same time use little water and discharge little wastewater into the sewerage system.
TasWater general manager Callan Paske said the company had taken into account feedback from this group of consumers and was working to rectify the situation. According to him, the new methodology reduced charges for many customers, but some businesses and community organisations experienced substantial increases.
Tariff adjustments
TasWater is preparing a solution for customers most affected by fixed charges due to large water connections combined with comparatively low water use. Separately, the company will adjust tariffs for sports clubs that mainly use water for irrigation. Both changes will be applied retrospectively from 1 July.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Representatives of Tasmanian businesses and sports clubs had previously reported a sharp rise in costs. One business said its monthly bill had increased from $630 to $3,800, or by about 500%.
Government response
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff welcomed the decision to suspend and review the changes. According to him, it was the result of discussions between the state government, TasWater, the Tasmanian economic regulator and the local government sector.
The announcement does not concern water consumption tariffs, including those for households. The economic regulator did not approve TasWater's request for an 8.8% price increase over four years; instead, tariffs will rise by an average of 5.7% annually over the next four years.
