This bill is the third of a suite of bills to reform New Zealand’s drinking-water, wastewater and stormwater services—the “three waters” services. Currently, these services are mostly provided by local councils. Under the new regime, water services will be provided by four new publicly-owned water services entities. This bill would establish a regulatory framework for the new entities, and provide for independent oversight of them. The Commerce Commission would be the regulator.

This bill proposes the following economic regulation and consumer protection measures for the three waters sector:

· the Commission would be required to set and enforce minimum service level codes

· the Commission would be required to apply price-quality requirements for the entities. These would place both a ceiling on prices charged or revenue collected by the entities, and set a floor for quality of service

· the Commission would be required to set information disclosure and reporting requirements for the entities

· a consumer dispute resolution service would be established and would be subject to regular reviews by the Commission

· the position of Water Services Commissioner would be established on the Commission’s board to reflect the unique nature of the water sector and the importance of Te Mana o te Wai.

This Bill also provides for funding of the regime via levies on regulated suppliers on behalf of consumers, and for remedies and enforcement mechanisms for breaches of regulatory obligations, including pecuniary penalties, enforceable undertakings, injunctions, and compensation.

The committee is also considering another bill related to water service reform—the Water Services Legislation Bill. That bill is about the functions, powers, and obligations of the new water services entities.

Tell the Finance and Expenditure Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by midnight on Sunday, 12 February 2023, if you are a member of the public. For local government—including local and regional councils—make a submission on the bill by midnight, 17 February 2023.

For more details about the bill:

· Read the full content of the bill

· What's been said in Parliament about the bill?

· Follow the committee's Facebook page for updates 
 

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