Price-quality path for Watercare
Watercare will be subject to a price-quality path once the Charter ends in June 2028.
We are setting the first price-quality path for Watercare under Part 4 of the Commerce Act. It will apply when the Charter ends in mid-2028.
Under a price-quality path we can set the maximum amount of money that Watercare can recover from consumers, and the quality of service they need to provide for that money. We can also set a minimum amount of money they can recover, if we think this helps consumers in the long term.
A price-quality path works with other components of economic regulation, like information disclosure (ID) that requires Watercare to publish information that lets stakeholders understand whether they are delivering the quality of service they have committed to.
Our Approach Paper is the first formal step in setting the price-quality path for Watercare. It sets out our process and preliminary views on how we will set Watercare’s first price-quality path.
We are publishing this paper now to promote regulatory predictability and seek early feedback from interested stakeholders.
If you would like to make a submission on the Approach Paper, please send your feedback by email to wai@comcom.govt.nz.
Submissions are due on 16 January 2026.