First steps taken in setting Goulburn Murray Water prices from 2020

The state’s water regulator has released two papers that provide a foundation for making pricing decisions for the nation’s biggest irrigation network, Goulburn Murray Water, from 2020 to 2024.

Goulburn Murray Water is Australia’s largest rural water corporation, serving around 25,000 customers across a region stretching over 68,000 square kilometres from the Great Dividing Range to the River Murray, and Corryong in the east down river to Nyah.

While the Essential Services Commission is responsible for making pricing decisions for the rural water business, the rules on how the prices are set is governed mainly by the Commonwealth.

The commission’s Marcus Crudden says the release of the guidance papers marks the beginning of the process for the Goulburn Murray Water 2020 price review.

“The papers set out the minimum information we will need from the business in their next pricing proposal due to be submitted to us in November next year,” he said.

The commission has released one paper covering the infrastructure services side of the business (under national water rules) and a second draft paper which looks at groundwater and surface water (under Victorian water rules)*.

Mr Crudden says under the national rules the business will need to reflect the pricing principles set down by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 

“This includes promoting economically efficient use of water infrastructure, ensuring sufficient revenue and reflecting the user pays principle for water storage and delivery of irrigation systems.

“We will be expecting Goulburn Murray to be talking to its customers about prices and services over the next year as it prepares its submission,” he said.

Comments on the draft guidance paper which relate to the Victorian water rules component of the pricing decision should be sent to water@esc.vic.gov.au by 4 December, 2018.

* National water rules cover 95 per cent of the business while the Victorian rules cover the remaining 5 per cent.