Maynilad rates up in next 3 months

Customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. can expect to pay at least 26 centavos per cubic meter over the next three months as the company implements regulator-approved price adjustments. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s regulatory office gave the green light on tariff increases. The MWSS approval covers an increase in Maynilad’s average basic rate owing to the overall rise in the prices of commodities and in the foreign currency differential adjustment (FCDA). The FCDA is a tariff mechanism granted to utility companies to allow them to recover losses or give back gains arising from the fluctuating movements of the peso against other currencies. Maynilad said its average basic rate would go up by 64 centavos or 2 percent to P34.51 per cubic meter from the previous P33.87 per cubic meter. Also, the FCDA will go up to 24 centavos per cubic meter or 0.69 percent of the new average basic rate. The FCDA shall be effective from April 22 to June 30, Maynilad said. The price adjustments mean that a household that uses 10 cubic meters of water or less each month will pay P118.48, an increase of P2.60 a month. Households that use 20 cubic meters a month will pay P9.77 more at P443.81 a month, while those that use 30 cubic meters a month will pay P19.96 more at P905.05 a month. —Ronnel W. Domingo