The Essential Services Commission is the primary economic regulator of essential utility infrastructure services in Victoria.

The ESC’s role generally involves regulating prices, service standards, market conduct and consumer protection. The ESC also publishes codes and guidelines, decisions and determinations and performance reports and conducts independent external audits to ensure we are complying with various regulatory requirements. These publications impose obligations on South East Water and provide information to customers and other stakeholders.

The ESC has released a number of codes and guidelines with which the regulated water businesses must comply. From the ESC’s Customer Service Code, South East Water has produced a Customer Service Charter which outlines the service standards offered to our customers.

South East Water Customer Service Charter

The ESC reports publicly the performance of Victoria's 15 urban water businesses with the aim of stimulating competition by comparison and to inform customers about the service levels they receive. The reports focus on key issues of quality, reliability and the affordability of water and sewerage services.

 Customer Charter (85.8 KB)

ESC Performance Reports

The ESC price setting process requires South East Water to prepare a Water Plan for assessment by the ESC. The Water Plan sets out:

• the outputs we intend to deliver in relation to service levels and regulatory and statutory obligations;
• strategies to achieve those outputs;
• the revenue required to deliver the outputs; and
• the price structure (tariffs) required to achieve the revenue required.

Read about ESC Performance Reports here.

ESC Pricing Decisions

The ESC has commenced the 2008 Price Review details of which can be found here.