Bogor water firm to raise prices

BOGOR (JP): Bogor regency-owned tap water company PAM Bogor will raise its water rates for customers by around 42 percent from the current rate of Rp 775 per cubic meter of water to Rp 1,100 starting the end of this year or early next year.

PAM Bogor spokesman E.E. Sulaeman said the increase in water rates was necessary to compensate the company's increasing costs from soaring electricity rates and fuel prices.

He revealed that the company's electricity bills alone increased from Rp 2.5 billion in 1999 to Rp 2.9 billion in 2000. The bills would likely increase to Rp 4.8 billion this year and Rp 6.2 billion next year.

"Because of the cost increases, revenues from water sales can no longer cover our production costs, so we will suffer losses of between Rp 2 billion and Rp 3 billion per annum," Sulaeman said.

The company booked a net loss of Rp 2.9 billion last year, an increase from a net loss of Rp 1.7 billion in 1999.

Currently, PAM Bogor has a total of 73,040 customers. It had planned to expand its customer base to Cibinong and Depok. It projected that there were around 17,000 potential customers in Cibinong and 13,000 in Depok.

PAM Bogor currently produces 1,573 liters of clean water per second. (21)