After the increase in electricity bills, now it is also the turn of water bills to increase!
The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) announced that starting from February 1, household users in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan with a monthly water consumption of up to 20 cubic meters (m3) will face a monthly water bill increase between A range of RM1.60 to RM8, or a daily increase of 5 sen to 27 sen.
As for non-domestic users with a monthly water consumption of up to 20 cubic meters, they will face a monthly water bill increase of 40 sen to RM2, or a daily increase of 1 sen to 7 sen, including from the electricity supplier. Energy surcharge charged by water and sewerage operators.
The committee pointed out that the cabinet made the above decision on December 13 last year.
Izian, director of SPAN’s Licensing and Rates Group, pointed out at a media briefing that according to the commission’s data, about 47% of household users consume 20 cubic meters of water.
She said that for this reason, the committee also used this data and set the increased range within this range.
Ezian said water supply operators are now facing various problems, including treated water quality that does not meet standards, large amounts of non-relevant water (NRW), old water pipes that need to be replaced, and water treatment stations that are overloaded.
She pointed out that the operating expenses of water supply operators increased at an average annual rate of 3.6%. Compared with the 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of electricity charges, water charges were only 2%. For this reason, existing water charges do not reflect the actual cost of water sources.
On the other hand, SPAN answered in the FAQ that the water tariff system is different in each state because the cost of services provided by water supply operators and the needs of infrastructure development are different.
The commission said the debt previously incurred by state water operators also varied.
SPAN pointed out that the purpose of raising water fees is to improve the level of water supply services, including taking into account the cost of clean water supply, that is, the gradual increase in operating expenditures (OPEX) and capital expenditures (CAPEX) used for infrastructure development.
“Having sufficient revenue to cover operating expenses and capital expenditure is very important for water services to the people.”
The committee pointed out that the deficit financial situation will affect the daily operations of water supply operators and lead to the inability to continue infrastructure development plans, resulting in a decline in the quality and standard of services.
