By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, Mar 6 — The Federal government has been urged to reconsider imposing a recent electricity tariff hike on state water operators, as it has resulted in increased operating costs and thus raised water tariffs.
Describing the decision as “double slaughter” to the people, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said he and other heads of state governments share the same view on the matter.
“(When we talk about) the water tariff hike, it is not just in terms of operations, where we have to pay higher costs. We are also forced to pay added costs from the electricity tariff hike announced by the Federal government.
“I, myself, and the other Menteri Besar are pleading for this to be reconsidered so as not to burden the people. We see it as a ‘double slaughter’, whereby not only the electricity tariff has increased, but water as well, due to the power tariff hike.
“I have consistently addressed this issue at the Federal level. In fact, InsyaAllah, I will debate this matter in Parliament tomorrow to ensure the issue of sustainable water supply is properly addressed,” he said in his wind-up speech on the royal address at the State Legislative Assembly session today.
Amirudin was responding to Hulu Kelang state assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s query on the state government’s effort to identify alternative solutions to increasing the water tariff.
Previously, on January 18, Amirudin announced new water tariffs for Selangor residents effective February 1, with the minimum charge for domestic users increased from RM6 to RM6.50.
However, he said the state government has agreed to absorb the increased cost of water usage for low-income households registered under the Skim Air Darul Ehsan free water programme, as well as for houses of worship and welfare homes in Selangor.
This is after the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) announced that water tariffs for domestic users in the Peninsula and Federal Territory of Labuan would be adjusted beginning in February, involving an average increase of 22 cents per cubic metre.
It said the adjustment could no longer be delayed so as not to affect the sustainability of the water industry in the long term, thus impacting the quality of water supply services enjoyed by the people.
Pipe Replacement
Meanwhile, Amirudin said pipe replacement remains one of Selangor’s main agenda, as it looks to consistently reduce non-revenue water (NRW) in the state.
The Menteri Besar noted that in 2018, Selangor recorded an NRW rate of 31.7 per cent, although this figure has since improved.
While this is slightly higher than Penang and Johor, it is substantially lower than many other states, like Kedah and Sabah, which recorded NRW of 51 and 55 per cent, respectively.
Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd also faced some setbacks in pipe replacement works in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In 2022, I admit there were also some issues pertaining to the awarding (of contract) for the works. However, these are all resolved now.”
Earlier this year, Air Selangor said the recent water tariff adjustment would allow the company to increase the pipe replacements in the state from 150km to 300km annually, starting this year.
This will help reduce the NRW rate in Selangor to 27.5 per cent by next year and to 23.5 per cent by 2030.
