Amid rising prices of basic commodities, customers of Maynilad Water Services will be paying more for tap water as regulators approved an increase of P5.73 per cubic meter (cu. m.) in the company’s basic charge over the next four years.

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System yesterday (MWSS) announced its Regulatory Office has made a decision on Maynilad’s proposed business plan for the regulatory period, which covers up to 2022.

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In a notice, MWSS data showed Maynilad’s rate rebasing included a hike of 90 centavos per cu. m. that will take effect next month, October. Currently, Maynilad’s basic rate is pegged at P35.48 per cu. m.

For 2020 and 2021, the MWSS allowed Maynilad to raise further the basic rate by P1.95 per cu. m. each year.

In the final year of the rate-rebasing period, in 2022, Maynilad is allowed to raise its basic rate by 93 centavos per cu. m.

Further, MWSS also approved a foreign currency differential adjustment (FCDA) of 11 centavos per cu. m., effective in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The latest FCDA for Maynilad is greater than the 26 centavos per cu. m. that was approved for the third quarter this year.

According to MWSS, the latest upward FCDA for Maynilad represented one percent of the current basic charge.

The FCDA alone means that Maynilad residential customers who consume up to 10 cu. m. a month will see an increase of 35 centavos in their monthly bill.

Maynilad customers who consume more than 10 cu. m. and up to 20 cu. m. a month will pay P1.31 more on top of their current bill.

Customers who consume more than 20 cu. m. and up to 30 cu. m. will see an increase of P2.63 in their bill each month.

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Taking together the increase in basic charge and the FCDA, these three customers groups will see a respective increase of P2.40, P6.53 and P13.68 in their bills starting October.

The FCDA is designed to allow the two MWSS concessionaires to recover losses or give back gains resulting from the fluctuations in the value of the peso against other currencies.

Maynilad is servicing foreign currency-denominated loans, the proceeds of which are used in the improvement and expansion of their services. The company also pays similarly denominated concession fees to the MWSS.

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