The Malaysian Insight

PENANG today guaranteed that water tariffs in the state will remain the lowest in the country, even after they are increased in line with the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry’s decision to raise rates nationwide.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who chairs the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP), said water will still be cheap compared with other states.

The current water tariff for domestic consumers in Penang is 32 sen for the first 35,000 litres – the lowest in the country.

“The water tariff for the state will definitely increase but the question is by how much.”

Negotiations with the federal government on increasing the price of water in Penang have been ongoing for several years, but he could not remember the numbers off-hand.

“There are several categories of consumers. Even for domestic consumers, there are different bands.

“The increase will be higher for some users… by ‘belasan peratus’ (11%-19%). It could be over 20%. Wait for the official decision,” he said when asked to comment on the matter.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said yesterday the increase was needed to protect consumers’ interest to ensure good water quality and the services of industries.

Chow said if the water tariffs are increased, the state might do away with the water conservation surcharge (WCS) introduced to deter wastage.

Presently a WCS of 48 sen is imposed on every extra 1,000 litres of water used above the 35,000 litres.

“After the tariff increase, we may take away the surcharge. With the higher tariffs, we hope consumers will conserve water. 

“With or without higher tariffs, we should conserve water, especially when we are a state that has little water resources.”

Penang uses the most water in the country. Its per capita domestic consumption in 2016 was 286 litres per day, compared with the national average of 209 litres per capital per day. – January 9, 2019.