The Commission for Regulation of Utilities has announced that implementation of a new non-domestic tariff framework for Irish Water business customers will go live on 1st May 2021.

The decision to confirm the new date for implementation has been taken by the economic regulator with the support of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Irish Water.

The changes were due to go live on 1 May 2020 but were deferred in March this year due to the considerable uncertainty for businesses under the essential Government public health guidelines.

Irish Water’s Yvonne Harris (Head of Customer Operations) said:

“We welcome the CRU’s decision in setting a new implementation date of the 1 May 2021, which will provide certainty for businesses and their representative groups.”

“Irish Water is cognisant of the challenges faced by businesses at this time; our aim is to ensure that every business across the country is provided with a clear, transparent, equitable charging regime regardless of location.”

“To ensure the changes are clearly communicated we will be writing to all customers in early 2021 outlining what the changes mean for them. The vast majority of customers will see either a decrease or an increase of less than €250 per annum, in their annual bills.”

Currently there are over 500 different tariff levels, with customers in different local authority areas paying different charges. The new framework will standardise charges across the country while recovering the cost of providing water and waste water services to non-domestic customers.

For the minority of customers who will face larger increases in their annual bill, Irish Water is planning to put in place a number of important support measures. Connections that see an increase of €250 or more will be gradually transitioned to the new tariffs over three years. For connections that will face an increase of €750 or more, Irish Water will automatically apply a 10% cap to their annual bill increase in any one year.

Yvonne Harris continued:

“Throughout this process, both Irish Water and the CRU have examined international best practice and consulted with representative groups and individual businesses across the country. This approach has greatly helped in developing charges that are clear, simple, and fair to all.”