The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System-Regulatory Office (MWSS RO) on Wednesday announced a tariff decrease on customers’ water bills for the first quarter of 2021.
Patrick Lester N. Ty, MWSS RO chief regulator, told mediamen in a virtual news conference that the MWSS Board of Trustees has approved the MWSS RO’s recommendation to implement the 2021 1st Quarter Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) effective January 1, 2021.
The FCDA recommendation was based on the MWSS RO’s evaluation of the FCDA proposals of the two private water concessionaires.
Under the approved FCDA, Manila Water Co. Inc. (MWCI), which provides water and wastewater services for the East Zone concession area, will implement an FCDA of 0.66 percent of its 2021 Average Basic Charge of P28.52 per cubic meter, or P0.19 per cubic meter. This is a downward adjustment of P.14 per cubic meter from the previous FCDA of P0.33 per cubic meter.
In effect, MWCI residential customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less, with the exception of lifeline customers who are already exempted from the quarterly FCDA charges, are expected to have a decrease on their monthly bills of P0.76 per month.
Meanwhile, those consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month are expected to have their bills go down by P1.69 and P3.45, respectively.
Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI), which serves the West Zone concession area, meanwhile will apply an FCDA of negative 0.39 percent of its 2021 Average Basic Charge of P36.24 per cubic meter or negative P0.14 per cubic meter. This is also a downward adjustment of P0.05 per cubic meter from the previous FCDA of negative P0.09 per cubic meter.
In effect, MWSI residential customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less are expected to see their monthly bills go down by P0.05. Those consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month are expected to have a decrease of P0.64 and P1.30 respectively on their bills this coming quarter.
FCDA is a quarterly reviewed tariff mechanism that allows concessionaires to recover losses or give back gains arising from fluctuations in foreign-exchange rates as payments are made for foreign currency-denominated loans that are used to fund the expansion and improvement of water and sewerage services.
It is a corrective mechanism formulated by the MWSS RO to avoid under recovery or over recovery caused by forex movements.
Be ‘very lenient’
Meanwhile, Ty assured customers of MWCI and MWSI that the two private water concessionaires were told to exercise leniency to delinquent customers who are still reeling from the economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent community quarantines and are still unable to settle their long-overdue accounts until now.
Ty said the Bayanihan 2 law allows MWCI and MWSI to disconnect delinquent customers who are unable to pay their bills now that the moratorium prohibiting disconnection is lifted. However, he said, both MWSS private water concessionaires were told to be “very lenient” to customers.
“All the customers have to do is go to the MWSI and MWCI office and enter into a payment scheme or sign a promisory note,” Ty said.
Meanwhile, the MWSS RO chief said an investigation is ongoing to verify the claim of both water concessionaires for the post-Ulysses water service interruptions because of the turbidity of water in reservoirs.
To recall, as most parts of Metro Manila was submerged by floodwater, water consumers also had to deal with waterless days after the typhoon.
He assured that the MWSS RO is investigating service interruption to protect the interest of water consumers.