Starting next month, customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Company Inc. will experience a slight rollback in their monthly billing.
According to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office (RO) Chief Patrick Ty, Manila Water was allowed to implement a Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) of 1.17 percent of its average basic charge of P28.52 per cubic meter (/cu.m) or P0.33/cu.m.
Ty said this would translate to a rollback of P0.78 in the monthly billing of Manila Water customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less, except for lifeline customers who are exempted to the quarterly FCDA charges.
On the other hand, customers consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month will see a decline of P1.73 and P3.52 in their water bills, respectively.
Meanwhile, Maynilad will implement an FCDA of negative 0.26 percent of its 2019 Average Basic Charge of P36.24/cu.m or negative P0.09/cu.m.
Ty said this will slightly pull down the monthly bills of Maynilad customers consuming 10 cubic meters or less by P0.06, while those consuming 20 cubic meters per month and 30 cubic meters per month will pay lower by P0.24 and P0.50, respectively.
The FCDA adjustment will be effective from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
FCDA is a tariff mechanism granted to utility companies to allow it to recover losses or give back gains arising from the fluctuating movements of the peso against other currencies. This is because Maynilad and Manila Water pays foreign-dominated Concession Fees to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), as well as loans to fund projects that will improve service for its customers.