Unitywater rules out time of day water pricing

The Courier Mail reported this morning that a report to Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Councils by the Queensland Competition Authority, has proposed a plan for “time of day or seasonal” pricing, aimed at reducing demand in times of high use and also saving water.
While Unitywater is mentioned in the article as supporting the idea in principle, Unitywater chairman, Jim Soorley, has ruled out introducing seasonal or peak pricing for water, saying it would not be economically viable and is not on the utility’s agenda.
He said that approach to pricing was designed for electricity to help manage peak demand and would be inappropriate for the water industry.
“I want to make it crystal clear that this is not an option for us,” Mr Soorley said.
“It is not suitable for water, it would cost a fortune and it is simply not going to happen.”
During a press conference in Noosa the Premier Campbell was asked to comment on the proposal and described it as “a crazy idea” saying, “We will not allow councils to implement such a scheme and as far as I’m concerned it’s dead, period.”