We pay about 30ct/m3 in electricity costs for our own pump. No basic charge. Wastewater costs 80 €/year for sludge from the three-chamber septic tank.
The different billing methods arise from the fact that wastewater disposal is a sovereign task and is therefore usually carried out by an AöR, without VAT.
Water supply is then partially private, partially municipal utilities, where the AöR as a sister company handles the disposal. In the latter case, water and wastewater are usually invoiced simultaneously, otherwise separately.
High basic charges for water may not encourage saving but reflect reality. In fact, the fixed costs for laying and maintaining the network and waterworks are much higher than the small amount of electricity for the pumps per m3.
I once worked for a water supplier for several years. There was also consideration to do away with all the measuring and reading and calculation and just charge basic fees for the connections – at least for small consumers. It was actually more economical but politically not feasible.
