The water rates of Manila Water Company Inc. will slightly increase in the second quarter of the year, while customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. will enjoy a small rollback in rates.
In a virtual briefing on Thursday, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Chief Regulator Patrick Ty said such adjustments are based on the two companies’ suggested and approved Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) for April to June period.
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 Regulatory Office (MWSS RO) to avoid under-recovery or over-recovery caused by forex movements.
Effective April 1, 2021, Manila Water will implement an FCDA of 0.84 percent of its 2021 Average Basic Charge of P28.52 per cubic meter or P0.24 per cubic meter. This is an upward adjustment of P0.05 per cubic meter from the previous FCDA of P0.19 per cubic meter.
As a result, Manila Water residential customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less (except lifeline customers who are exempt from the quarterly FCDA charges) are expected to have an increase of P0.27 per month on their bills.
Those consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month are expected to have their bills go up by P0.60 and P1.22 respectively.
To be specific, Manila Water caters to the Cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig and Marikina.
It is also in charge of the southeastern parts of Quezon City, and Sta. Ana and San Andres in Manila. In the Province of Rizal, MWCI services the City of Antipolo and Municipalities of San Mateo, Rodriguez, Cainta, Taytay, Teresa, Angono, Baras, Binangonan, and Jala-jala.
Meanwhile, Maynilad will apply an FCDA of negative 0.41 percent of its 2021 Average Basic Charge of P36.24 per cubic meter or negative P0.15 per cubic meter. This is a downward adjustment of P0.01 per cubic meter from the previous FCDA of negative P0.14 per cubic meter.
This means that Maynilad residential customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less are expected to see their monthly bills go down by P0.08.
Those consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month are then expected to have a decrease of P0.10 and P0.20 respectively on their bills this coming quarter.
Maynilad provides water and wastewater services to residents in most parts of Manila; northern and western parts of Quezon City; western parts of Makati; and the Cities of Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, Navotas, and Malabon in Metro Manila.
It also serves the Municipalities of Meycauayan and Obando in the Province of Bulacan; and the Cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and Municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario in the Province of Cavite.
Despite the slight adjustment in Manila Water rates for the second quarter, consumers were assured that other than the quarterly FCDA, there will be no other water rate increases for the rest of the year.
This, as both Maynilad and Manila Water decided to defer their water rates adjustment under the current rate rebasing period and the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment.
Done every five years, rate rebasing is a review of water utilities' past performance and the projection on their future cash flows.
It is supposed to set the water rates at a level that would allow both Maynilad and Manila Water to recover their expenditures and earn a rate of return.
Meanwhile, the CPI adjustment is the annual inflation adjustment and takes place every January.