Price submission 2023–2028

Every five years, Barwon Water prepares a plan that proposes:

• the service standards we will provide to our customers (water, wastewater and recycled water)
• capital and operating expenditure to deliver these services and meet regulatory obligations
• the prices that customers will pay in return.

This plan – known as a price submission – is submitted to the Essential Services Commission for review and determination. The Essential Services Commission provide detailed guidance about what must be set out in a price submission, which includes a clear statement of the outcomes that will be delivered to customers.

A price submission reflects the ongoing investments we need to make in order to continue providing high quality, secure water services and outstanding customer and community value. We need to consider how we will service growth, comply with all of our statutory obligations and maintain or replace our assets over time.

Along with our forecast operating and capital costs, we also consider customer and community feedback on what we are doing well and how we could improve, inflation, regional growth rates and population, cost of living pressures (including the ongoing impact of the pandemic) and future challenges including water security.

In developing our next price submission, we will talk with a range of customers and key stakeholders across the region to understand their challenges.