Second thoughts about affordable water?

Is Tiaki Wai reconsidering the affordability of the price increases that it’s planning when it takes over from Wellington Water in July? Well maybe, after more than 1100 people accepted its invitation to send feedback.

Here’s what chairman Will Peet said on May Day, after reading those submissions:

“…we hear the concerns about costs, especially at a time when people are facing cost-of-living pressures on all sides, with fuel, electricity and other bills on the rise. We are in the process of reviewing the proposed budget and investment plan for next year and the next decade.”

Which may be a sign that the people selected to run the new water company are starting to become aware of what its customers can afford.

When Tiaki Wai announced its “water services strategy” in March, the mayor of Porirua said it was planning price increases that were horrendous and would drive people away from the region. The Minister of Local Government said he was “concerned for Wellington ratepayers” and the increases were greater than what was described at a briefing last August. Will Peet said he knew the price rises would be unpopular, but the topic needed to be addressed.

Anyone who has looked at its new website will have seen that Tiaki Wai has a large section describing what will happen if you can’t pay your water bills. But at the end of March, Will Peet insisted that Tiaki Wai was not charging any more than was necessary. Necessary, but unaffordable?

It got worse. In mid April, the newly-hired chief executive, on a salary higher than the Prime Minister, didn’t seem to believe that the increased charges were unaffordable. His thinking:

“It depends on how to define affordable, affordable is in the eyes of the customers at the end of the day, so difficult for me to say what’s affordable being a new person.”

Nothing there to give any comfort to people worrying how they would be able to afford a 14 per cent increase next year.

Then came May Day, and could it be a change of heart? Tiaki Wai has counted the 1150 submissions and discovered there were

… questions around investment into network improvements and delivering better services for future generations, 44% definitely or somewhat agreed that this was important even it meant paying more, while 43.6% definitely or somewhat disagreed.

A verbose way of describing the number who don’t want such large price increases.

There was more about affordability.

“The important task we have now is balancing the need to invest in improvements and managing debt, with the level and pace of increases in customer charges so it is still affordable. These are not easy trade-offs.”

We have to wait a month or more before we know if Tiaki Wai has really been considering what its customers can afford. Mr Peet again”

“The Tiaki Wai Board will carefully consider feedback before making final decisions. An updated Water Services Strategy, including confirmed water services charges for 2026/27, will be published before 30 June.”

By then, let’s hope that the new chief executive will have had help to work out the meaning of affordability, not for someone being paid one of the highest salaries in the country, but for the thousands of ratepayers who will be paying the bills for Tiaki Wai.