WATER RATES in Boracay are set to increase starting Jan. 1, 2019 equivalent to 18.08% of this year’s basic water and sewer charge, the island’s water regulator said in a notice published during the weekend.
“The increase represents the third tranche of the approved 2017 Rate Rebasing adjustment and the corresponding inflation rate,” said the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority-Regulatory Office.
“Furthermore a 3.0% increase shall be applied to the Basic Water and Sewer Charge to account for Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA),” it added in the notice to Boracay Island Water Co., Inc. customers.
Starting next year, the basic water charge for residential “A” category water users or those consuming no more than 10 cubic meters (cu.m.) will be at P557.82 per connection from P472.41 previously.
For those consuming 11 to 20 cu.m., the new rate will be P105.99 per cu.m., while for those using 21 to 50 cu.m., the rate will be P156.18 per cu.m.
Their previous rates were P89.76 and P132.27 per cu.m., respectively.
For residential “B” consumers using no more than 10 cu.m., the new rate will be P313.48 per connection from P313.48 previously.
For commercial “A” consumers, or those using no more than 10 cu.m., the basic charge will be P1,394.51 per connection.
Those consuming 11 to 50 cu.m. will be charged P167.33 per cu.m., while those using 51 to 100 cu.m. will be pay P195.25 per cu.m. Consumers using more than 100 cu.m. will be charged P223.10 per cu.m.
The rate for Commercial “B” consumers using 10 cu.m. and below will be P836.71 per connection. Consumers in the 11-50 cu.m., 51-100 cu.m. and more than 100 cu.m. brackets will pay P153.39, P181.28 and P209.18 per cu.m., respectively.
Water concessionaires are allowed to recover losses or give back gains through the FCDA tariff mechanism that factors in the movements of the peso against foreign currencies.
The FCDA mechanism was set because the water concessionaires pay foreign currency-denominated concession fees, as well as loans to fund service improvement projects that will expand and upgrade water and wastewater services.
It also allows them to sustain their program to cut water losses or non-revenue water and bring the supply to the underserved and unserved sectors in their service areas.
Boracay Water is a subsidiary of Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Inc., which is in turn a wholly owned subsidiary of Manila Water Co., Inc. — Victor V. Saulon

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