Water rates going down this summer

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on Friday said its two concessionaires—Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services—would cut basic charges from April 1 to June 30 because of foreign exchange savings.

On average, customers in the east zone serviced by Manila Water will enjoy savings of P0.44 per cubic meter from the basic charge of P28.29 for every cubic meter of water consumed, MWSS said.

The east zone covers parts of the cities of Quezon and Makati, the southeastern parts of Manila, Taguig, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, the municipality of Pateros and Rizal province.

In the west zone served by Maynilad, consumers will benefit from an average decrease of P0.16 per cubic meter from the basic charge of P33.97 for every cubic meter of water consumed.

The west zone includes parts of Manila and Quezon City, west of South Super Highway in Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon, as well as the municipalities of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite province.

The state firm’s board of trustees headed by MWSS chairman Ramon Alikpala have made a resolution announcing a rate decrease based on the Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA).

Through the FCDA scheme, Manila Water and Maynilad can pass on savings or losses from foreign denominated loan payments to consumers.

The difference in tariff impact between the two concessionaires is due to certain variations in their loan portfolios, MWSS Acting Chief Regulator Emmanuel Caparas said in a statement.

With these tariff adjustments, MWSS said, the total monthly bill for Manila Water consumers using an average of 30 cubic meters per month will decrease by P9.89 for residential users and P12.13 for semibusiness users.

Commercial establishments consuming an average of 155 cubic meters per month will be able to save P154.14, while industrial establishments will save P167.53 for the same amount of water consumption.

For Maynilad customers who consume an average of 26 cubic meters per month, total savings will be P3.04 for residential and P4.18 for semibusiness.

Commercial and industrial establishments with an average water consumption of 251 cubic meters will pay P96.64 and P105.06 less, respectively, for the same volume of consumption.

The MWSS Regulatory Office reviews the FCDA quarterly and the adjustment is applied to the basic tariff for every month of the following quarter. As such, consumers can expect to have the announced rate reductions reflected in their billing starting this April, MWSS said.