SHAH ALAM, Dec 21 — The need to review water tariffs will be pressing if almost all companies managing water supply are operating at a loss.
State executive councillor for infrastructure and agriculture Izham Hashim said the current water tariff is still too low while the capital expenditure is quite high.
He said there has been no review of water tariffs for over 20 years.
[caption id="attachment_301164" align="alignleft" width="419"]
Pandan Indah state assemblyman and state executive councillor for infrastructure Izham Hashim speaking to the press after officiating Dewan Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya in Perwira Jaya, on February 11, 2023. — Picture by FIKRI YUSOF/SELANGORKINI[/caption]
“Water tariffs have not been reviewed for more than 20 years. Electricity was quite frequent. Actually, almost all water management companies are operating at a loss,” Izham said when contacted by Bernama today.
During the question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat on November 9, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the state governments, cross-party, agreed at the National Water Council meeting that water tariffs in the states should be reviewed and a new tariff-setting mechanism established to regulate the rate of tariff increases by operating companies.
In the meantime, Izham said the Selangor government has implemented several initiatives to increase the profits of companies managing water, including constructing new water treatment plants and replacing outdated pipes to reduce water leakage.
He also guaranteed that recipients of the Darul Ehsan Water Scheme (SADE) free water programme, consisting of the state's B40 group, will not be affected following the expected increase in the new water tariff.
"SADE recipients will not be affected by this (increase in) tariff. Those involved are only commercial and domestic users who use over 20 cubic metres of water," Izham said.
To date, almost 400,000 Selangor B40 residents are qualified to register for the programme, and those who wish to do so can go to https://ssipr.selangor.gov.my/ for more information.
SADE is a realignment programme to provide free water to the target group of Selangor residents with a household income of RM5,000 and below, aiming to reduce the people's cost of living, especially for the low-income group.
— Bernama
