arnings shortfall





How ironic is this? I read today , with wry amusement, an article in the paper whose headline informs readers of the impact the falling use of water here in Melbourne will have on pushing up water prices. Yes, you understood it right folks; we put our best foot forward and make a huge effort to use less water in view of the dwindling water supply here in Melbourne and it is now highly possible we will be paying more money for our effort.

Ah the joys of privitisation. When a government (in this case, a state government) finds it is short of money it looks around to see what assets can be sold off to shore up the treasury. Water was the chosen asset in the mid-nineties and Melbourne Water was divided into three regional retail businesses and our water bills arrived not long after bearing the name of a private company. The Essential Services Commission, described as an independent regulator, oversees the pricing and regulations covering water here in Victoria and they recently sounded a warning about the possibility of price hikes.


Caught between a rock and a hard place, the water companies encourage their users to cut back on water as the drought continues while being fully aware that this will reduce their earnings. Add to that some large works in progress; a desalination plant – they don’t come cheap – the controversial north-south pipeline and the high cost of borrowing for capital works and the outlook is not rosy for the water companies.

Now to wait and see the outcome of this latest piece of news; one thing you can be sure of, water prices will not be going down.