Penang govt plans to increase water surcharge for heavy users

GEORGETOWN — In a bid to slash domestic water consumption in Penang, the state government plans to double a Water Conservation Surcharge (WCS) for heavy users, before it decides whether to raise water tariffs.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told reporters Sunday (April 23) that the surcharge would be increased from RM0.48 (S$0.15) to RM1 (S$0.32) for each 1,000 litres of domestic consumption. But this will only apply to households that use more than 35,000 litres a month.

He said that raising the WCS was the “last chance” to decrease domestic water consumption in the northern state, which has the highest figure in Malaysia with some 290 litres used per person per day, before the state government decides whether to increase the overall water tariffs.

“Once we get the approval, we will impose the raised surcharge. We cannot go on like this.”

Mr Lim noted that Penang has been criticised by the federal government and non-governmental organisations for its high water usage.

“It is true. We cannot deny it. All this time, we had been reluctant to increase the water tariff, which NGOs have been suggesting, because we wanted to try to educate and persuade people to conserve water,” he said when launching the World Water Day celebrations in Penang.

Mr Lim said state utility agency Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) would be writing to the National Water Services Commission soon on the matter and that the new surcharge is expected to be implemented by the end of this year.

PBAPP CEO Jaseni Maidinsa noted that around 25 per cent of 504,400 domestic users in the state would be affected by the revised WCS.

He said the WCS had been able to encourage consumers to cut down wastage, but only temporarily because water was still cheap.

Penang has the lowest domestic water tariff in Malaysia, at 32 cents per 1,000 litres.

“Every time we introduce it, we see a drop. In 2015, the daily consumption was 291 litres. Last year, it went down to 286 litres. But because the tariff is still low, people go back to normal (their usual habit),” Mr Jaseni said, stressing that consumers must cut down their water use by at least 10 per cent.

He added that last year, 827 million litres of water was used by households. “In other words, domestic consumers used more water than all the industries, hotels and commercial enterprises that operate in Penang.”

This is the second revision of the WCS in recent years. The surcharge was gazetted in accordance with the Water Services Industry Act 2006.

In 2013, the state government raised the WCS from 24 cents to 48 cents for each 1,000 litres of domestic consumption.

Households of 8 persons or more are eligible for a WCS discount.

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