The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has stated that the circa €537 million per annum in Government subvention of Irish Water in 2015 and 2016 will be conditional on the average water charge for households being €240 per year, subject to final assessment by the Commission for Energy Regulation.
This average figure has been calculated on the basis of the projected operational and capital costs of Irish water based on a high level model and various CSO data. The CER will be reviewing Irish Water costs in detail to ensure that only efficiently incurred expenditure is passed on to customers.
The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) will make a final decision on the level of water charges in August, following public consultation on Irish Water’s water charges plan. It has commenced public consultation on the tariff structure and design. The CER will outline decisions in June 2014 based on the outcome of this consultation and the policy direction of the Minister.
