The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) will submit a proposal to increase water tariff by average increase of 20 per cent to the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) next week.
PBAPP general manager Jaseni Maidinsa announced the proposed tariff hike rates today at a press conference, which could affect 546,749 registered water consumers.
“The average increase for domestic consumers is at about 20 per cent,” he said in a press conference at the PBAPP office today.
In the proposed rate hike, there will be no increase for the first band of consumption for the first 20,000 litres per month.
“This is in keeping with the state government's directive to not ‘overburden’ the lower income group or penalise conscientious domestic water,” he said.
But the minimum charge will be increased from RM2.50 to RM3.
There are also increases in consumption for bands two, three, four and five for water consumption of more than 20,000 litres per month.
In band two, for usage between 20,000 litres and 40,000 litres of water, the rate is increased from 42 sen to 46 sen per litre.
Band three, usage between 40,000 and 60,000 litres per month, the rate is increased from 52 sen to 68 sen per litre.
For band four and five, for usage above 60,000 litres, the increase were at 30 per cent, from 90 sen to RM1.17 and RM1 to RM1.30 respectively.
The water conservation surcharge will remain at 48 sen for usage above 35,000 litres per month.
The average increase for trade consumers will be 18.8 per cent.
“Even with this increase in tariff, Penang's water tariff remains the lowest in the country at an average of 32 sen for 35,000 litres of water usage per month.
The national average water tariff is 66 sen per litre.
About 79 per cent of the total domestic consumers in Penang, about 375,714 consumers, use up to 40,000 litres water per month.
The remaining 21 per cent domestic consumers who use more than 40,000 litres of water will have to pay about 30 per cent more, unless they reduce consumption.
Jaseni said the extra revenue from this tariff increase will be channelled towards maintaining and managing water supply infrastructure, managing of non-revenue water and educational programmes to encourage water conservation.
The proposed tariff hike will only be implemented after SPAN gives the green light for the proposal, he said.
Penang has the lowest domestic water tariff in the country but the state also has the highest water consumption rate in the country at 311 litres per capita per day as at March 1, 2014.
The national average for water consumption is 212 litres per capita per day while in Singapore it's 151 liters per capita per day and the usage recommended by United Nations is 100 litres per capita per day.
On the current dam storage capacity, the water levels at the Air Itam Dam, Teluk Bahang Dam and Mengkuang Dam had remained constant which Jaseni said showed the state is meeting the demands so the water levels are not dipping.
Water levels at Air Itam dam is at 68 per cent, Teluk Bahang at 69.7 per cent while the Mengkuang Dam is at 62 per cent because it is now currently under expansion.
- The Malay Mail-
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