TPJ, Palyja seek 25% increase in water rates<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Tap water customers will need to be ready to dig deeper into
\ntheir pockets as two utilities -- PT Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ) and PT
\nPAM Lionaisse Jaya (Palyja) -- are seeking to increase water
\ncharge by between 23 percent and 25 percent beginning January.<\/p>\n
Water Supply Regulatory Board chairman Achmad Lanti said on
\nMonday that the two operators had submitted their requests to his
\noffice and that the proposals were currently being discussed by
\nmembers of the board.<\/p>\n
\"We are now discussing the proposals. We will consider the
\ninterests of both water customers and operators,\" Lanti told a
\npress conference on the sidelines of a seminar on the
\nsustainability of water supplies in the capital on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Water Supply Regulatory Board consists of customers, city
\nofficials and experts. They are appointed by the city
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
The board will submit its non-binding recommendation to
\nJakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who has the final say on the issue.
\nUsually, the increase approved by the governor is lower than that
\nrequested by the water utilities.<\/p>\n
The hike, if approved, would be the third increase since the
\nCity Council issued a bylaw authorizing the Jakarta governor to
\nmake the decision on an automatic tariff increase every six
\nmonths until 2007 without asking permission from the Council.<\/p>\n
Previously, any tariff increases had to be approved by the
\nCouncil.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso raised tap water charges by between six percent and
\n63 percent last July. In January, the governor also raised the
\ncharges by between 4 percent and 16 percent.<\/p>\n
Currently, the lowest tariff is Rp 900 (9 U.S. cents) per
\ncubic meter for poor households, while the highest tariff is Rp
\n12,150 per cubic meter for well-off households and the businesses
\nsector.<\/p>\n
The automatic hike arrangement was part of a plan to pay off
\nthe debts of city-owned water utility PAM Jaya. PAM Jaya owes
\naround Rp 600 billion to Thames PAM Jaya and Palyja, and Rp 1.6
\ntrillion to the Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said on Monday that he was not surprised by the
\nproposal as the City Council had authorized him to automatically
\nraise water charges in the city every six months.<\/p>\n
\"You shouldn't ask these sort of questions. We have to
\nincrease the water charges every six months as ruled by the City
\nCouncil bylaw,\" he told journalists when asked about the
\nproposal.<\/p>\n
Palyja, a subsidiary of France's ONDEO (formerly Lyonaisse des
\nEaux), supplies customers in western Jakarta, while Thames PAM
\nJaya, a subsidiary of Britain's Thames Water International,
\nsupplies water to eastern Jakarta, with the Ciliwung river
\nserving as the demarcation line.<\/p>\n
Palyja currently only has 343,020 customers, or 48.12 percent
\nof the total need in its territory, while TPJ serves around
\n364,548 customers, or 66.47 percent of the total need in its
\nterritory.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tpj-palyja-seek-25-increase-in-water-rates-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}