Maynilad, Manila Water to implement rate cuts for Q1 of 2021

MANILA, Philippines — Water concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. will cut down their water bill rates in the first quarter of 2021.

This is after the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) approved a quarterly adjustment for the water distribution utilities.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the MWSS Regulatory Office said the Board of Trustees has approved its recommendation to implement the 2021 first-quarter foreign currency differential adjustment (FCDA), effective January 1, 2021, which is based on its evaluation of FCDA proposals of the concessionaires.

https://www.facebook.com/MWSS.RO/posts/3811216828896917

The 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.

East zone concessionaire Manila Water will implement an FCDA of 0.66% of its 2021 average basic charge of P28.52 per cubic meter or P0.19 per cubic meter.

This is a downward adjustment of P0.14 per cubic meter from the previous FCDA of P0.33 per cubic meter, MWSS said.

Customers of Manila Water consuming 10 cubic meters or less, except for lifeline customers who are exempt from the quarterly FDA 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 can expect their bills to decrease by P1.69 and P3.45, respectively.

Maynilad will apply an FCDA of negative 0.39% of its 2021 average basic charge of P36.24 per cubic meter or negative P0.14 per cubic meter.

This translates to a decrease of P0.05 per cubic meter from the previous FCDA of negative P0.09 per cubic meter, MWSS said.

With this, Maynilad customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less are expected to have a decrease of P.05 in their monthly bills.

Meanwhile, those consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month will have a decrease of P0.64 and P1.30 respectively on their bills in the first quarter of 2021.

JE