Smart Metering – Change to Residential Tier Limits

With the rollout of smart meters, Council has considered how to best assist residents with water charges and billing. To help minimise costs to residents, an increase to the residential water usage tier has been implemented.

Following the June Ordinary Meeting of Council it was resolved that the residential water usage Tier 1 be increased to 400kL. Council adopted the 150kL increase from the previous Tier 1 limit of 250kL to help minimize the potential bill shock for residents. This will be in effect for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.

Additionally, it resolved that the access and usage charges would remain at the 2018/19 rates of $3.23 / kL for Tier 1 and $4.85 / kL for Tier 2. The usage charges for 2019/20 are:

Water Usage Charges – Residential

Kilolitres UsedCharge ($) 0 – 400 Residential3.23 / kL 400+ Residential4.85 / kL

Smart water meters have a high level of accuracy when recording usage, therefore some customers may identify a change in the recording of their overall water usage by comparison to the reads taken from the current meters.

Initially, Council will contact residents directly to notify if any potential leaks have been identified. As the project progresses, this feature along with the ability to view and monitor daily usage information will become available directly to residents and property owners through the online customer portal.

All the new smart meters are tested for accuracy prior to installation, and during the testing phase both manual and wireless reads will be undertaken to ensure consistency. Water usage bills will still be issued quarterly until the system is fully operational at which time Council will phase in the alignment of water account and rates notice.

Frequently Asked Questions and Fact Sheets about the meter replacement project and Smart Metering are available on Council’s website, at the Administration Building at 180 Mort Street, Lithgow and will be provided with upcoming water bill. For general enquires about the project or Smart Metering please call Council’s Water and Wastewater Department on 6354 9999.