ROBERT TIONGuradvisoryadmin2025-01-19T21:54:22+00:00


Robert is an Associate Consulting Principal, and joins URA after holding the position of Principal Regulatory Economist at Sydney Water. Robert has 5 years of experience providing regulatory advice to Sydney Water, and engaging NSW Government agencies to advocate for more effective regulatory outcomes. Most recently, Robert was a lead in delivering Sydney Water’s price proposal.
During his career, Robert has:
- advocated changes to policy proposals that reform economic regulation to deliver better customer value;
- advised on and developed phases within Sydney Water’s largest customer engagement program;
- planned, developed, reviewed and defended regulatory submissions;
- conducted economic and regulatory modelling to support annual reporting to government;
- advised government on regulatory outcomes affecting debt structures; and
- provided economic analysis underpinning major infrastructure business cases to support INSW reviews.
Highlighted Experience
Regulatory Price Reviewsuradvisoryadmin2025-01-12T21:22:43+00:00
- Sydney Water – Robert was part of the leadership team responsible for coordinating the delivery of Sydney Water’s submissions to IPART’s 2025 price review. This included managing input from stakeholders to meet board, executive, and government timelines, drafting chapters in the submission, advising on technical regulatory economic matters, and modelling cost and pricing outcomes.
Regulatory Reformuradvisoryadmin2025-01-12T21:24:31+00:00
- Sydney Water – Robert led submissions to stages of IPART’s 2021-22 review of its water pricing regulation framework. This included providing subject matter expertise on technical regulatory economics matters and managing other input from stakeholders across Sydney Water.
- Sydney Water – Robert advised on IPART’s review of its competitive neutrality framework in NSW. This included developing analysis and materials to explain likely impacts to Sydney Water, and drafting submissions to external stakeholders.
Economic Advisoryuradvisoryadmin2025-01-12T21:22:31+00:00
- Sydney Water – Robert provided technical economic support on some of Sydney Water’s major project business cases, such as integrated water cycle management infrastructure, wastewater treatment and recycled water infrastructure, and smart meters. This involved modelling inputs for cost-benefit analysis and financial appraisal, reviewing these models, and advising on regulatory outcomes. Robert also conducted similar analysis for carbon mitigation and adaptation initiatives.
- Sydney Water – Robert supported analysis on cost escalation of inputs into Sydney Water’s operating and capital expenditure. This included sourcing relevant ABS data, advising on trends, and supporting the application of data for Sydney Water’s price submission.
- Sydney Water – Robert was part of a team that provided technical economic analysis on the value of water conservation and the impact of drought in NSW. This included supporting analysis on the cost of restrictions, analysis on alternative tariff designs to respond to variability in water scarcity, and engaging Government to ensure a common understanding of these issues.
Tariff Designuradvisoryadmin2025-01-12T21:22:05+00:00
- Sydney Water – Robert conducted Sydney Water’s long-run marginal cost modelling. Robert independently sourced the inputs required for modelling, engaged Sydney Water’s economic regulator, IPART, and advised internal stakeholders on the implications modelling had on tariff structure proposals for Sydney Water’s 2025 price proposal.
- Sydney Water – Robert led Sydney Water’s response to IPART’s review of long-run marginal cost, advocating solutions that led to more accurate inputs for tariff design in the NSW water sector.
- Sydney Water – Robert developed the customer engagement stimulus which enabled Sydney Water to understand customers’ preferences for alternative tariff structures, including single block tariffs, inclining block tariffs, and drought pricing.
Customer Engagementuradvisoryadmin2025-01-12T21:25:06+00:00
- Sydney Water – Robert was part of the team that delivered Sydney Water’s largest customer engagement program, engaging over 13,000 customers over 21 months to gather insights to inform its price proposal. Robert led the development of stimulus to understand the outcomes customers expected of Sydney Water, customers’ willingness to pay, and the trade-offs they were willing to make to keep bills affordable.
Customer Engagementuradvisoryadmin2025-01-12T21:26:05+00:00
- Sydney Water – Robert conducted Sydney Water’s long-run marginal cost modelling. Robert independently sourced the inputs required for modelling, engaged Sydney Water’s economic regulator, IPART, and advised internal stakeholders on the implications modelling had on tariff structure proposals for Sydney Water’s 2025 price proposal.
- Sydney Water – Robert led regulated weighted average cost of capital modelling in Sydney Water. This involved advising Government of likely regulatory cost of debt outcomes, modelling to apply IPART’s method, and annual engagement with Government to allow Sydney Water to forecast regulated WACCs.
- Sydney Water – Robert supported a team developing Sydney Water’s affordability metrics. This included advising on appropriate indicators of customer affordability and reviewing Sydney Water’s models.
- Sydney Water – Robert advised Sydney Water on regulatory outcomes from unregulated service initiatives. This included modelling regulatory outcomes, recommending pricing approaches, and supporting advice on legal risk.