Delinquent Payments Lead to Sealing of Water Distribution to Thousands of Perumda Danum Taka PPU Customers
Thousands of customers of the Regional Public Water Company (Perumda) Air Minum Danum Taka in Penajam Paser Utara Regency (PPU), East Kalimantan, will face strict sanctions. The sanction involves sealing the water meters for their household connections (SR).
“We are intensifying the water meter sealing programme for delinquent payment customers, numbering around 1,200 SR water distributions. The total overdue amount exceeds Rp1 billion,” stated Director of Perumda Air Minum Danum Taka, Abdul Rasyid, to Media Indonesia on Sunday (5/4).
He explained that Perumda Air Minum Danum Taka is currently implementing a simultaneous sealing programme, a quarterly initiative aimed at reminding delinquent customers to fulfil their obligations. Sealing actions are taken if the first warning or visit is ignored.
“Although this programme targets sealing for delinquent customers, we also provide facilities such as instalments and encourage customers to settle their obligations to help with the company’s currently high operational burdens,” Rasyid revealed.
The current number of delinquents is around 1,200 SR with total arrears over Rp1 billion, mostly from empty or unoccupied houses in housing complexes that have not yet been occupied.
On average, they have been delinquent for three to five months, but all those overdue by more than three months will be sealed if there is no effort to make instalments as facilitated by the company.
“We have provided facilities for them to pay off their arrears in instalments, no matter the amount, as long as funds enter our coffers,” he said.
He noted that the funds from customers entering the company’s coffers can certainly be reused to finance operations, as Perumda Air Minum Danum Taka has not received operational assistance from the government for nearly four years, requiring it to operate independently.
If it incurs losses, it is certainly a loss for the company, meaning operational burdens sourced from revenue become reduced and limited, but no theft cases have been found. The cases are mostly due to empty houses in housing areas and deliberate accumulation of payments because the amount is still below Rp100,000.
“Thus, customers delay payments to payment units such as PDAM offices, banks, post offices, and the digital infoPDAM application. We have visited and written to them. We even gave them three to five days to instal or settle,” Rasyid explained.
However, if there is no effort at all, after 30 days, the company will permanently remove their SR. But generally, on average, they settle and instal up to the third week of the programme.
He admitted that amid fiscal challenges, the company remains optimistic. It has successfully achieved profits for three consecutive years. The 2025 financial report is currently under evaluation by a Public Accounting Firm (KAP), and he is confident there will be an increase in profits in 2025 compared to previous years.
It should be noted that the total number of Perumda Air Minum Danum Taka customers is nearly 17,000 SR, while prospective customers on the waiting list number around 3,000 spread across all sub-districts.
“Although there are many delinquents, this is not the cause of the waiting list. This occurs because the pipeline network has not yet been built in several areas, not because of the arrears,” he concluded.