The National Water Commission (NWC) has written to the Office of Utilities Regulation and requested a 51% rate increase, this fact was made public in Parliament when the head of the commission was grilled by a parliamentary committee. The increase, he said, is necessary because the commission is hemorrhaging money at what seems to be an unstable rate. The NWC has also requested the increase as it attempts to fix and upgrade the nation’s water infrastructure, namely the pipes which are, for the most part, aged and leaking.
When it comes to leaking, at the same committee hearing the head of NWC stated that up to 70% of water going through its pipes is unbilled and lost due to leaks in the system.
As the nation continues to battle the effects of the harshest drought we have experienced in over a decade, the request for an increase comes as a slap in the face. Prior to this extended drought, registered customers with the NWC experienced intermittent water supply or no water at all flowing through their pipes. Prior to this drought, exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon, hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans, primarily in rural parishes, were never connected to the NWC system and had to rely on water trucks, which meant some have to pay what seems to be exorbitant fees in order to access the vital and life sustaining commodity.
Now, I will not sit here and pretend that I don’t understand why the NWC is requesting a rate hike. The commission, over the past 8 months, has seen its expenses increase at a rapid rate due to the war in the Middle East. The war launched by the US and Israel against Iran has seen oil prices skyrocket, and this has had an impact on the commission which relies on electricity to keep pumping stations active. I also understand that more money in the coffers would theoretically result in more pipes being laid and people having access to the NWC system.
While I understand the reasons for the request, the rate increase being sought is too high. Nothing which the NWC has done in the past and present justifies a 51% increase and such a request looks craven and absurd. As has been stated by other writers, what guarantees do we have that this rate increase will result in a more efficient commission able to access anyone who wants piped water?
Has the commission explored other options such as getting monies owed to it by customers or going into communities and business places and demanding that the people who steal water be forced to pay? Until we have exhausted all other options, I remain firmly in the camp of refusing to accept this rate hike request.
The NWC has, since the start of this administration, been working closely and openly with Isratech. The company has got contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to aid in repairing our aged water infrastructure, so the question naturally becomes what benefits have we got from dealing with Isratech? If one of its main areas was dealing with non-revenue water (real leaks), why is it that we are being asked to fork out a small fortune as the NWC seeks a rate increase? How many kilometers of our pipe system leak, and how much has Isratech done to stop it? If we are being asked to bear the burden of an odious rate hike because the commission is losing money hand over fist, then the question must be asked, is the deal with Isratech providing value for money?
As has been correctly stated by columnist Gordon Robinson, the move by the NWC to request a rate hike is a negotiation tactic. I also do not believe that NWC thinks it will get a 51% increase, and I believe that it has thrown out such an outlandish figure to scare the public so that when it gets an increase between 10 and 20 per cent (a figure it more than likely really wanted) the public will feel relieved and maybe even happy that the OUR has done its job and is looking after the little person.
Such tactics are unbecoming of the commission and deserve to be condemned. This is not a private company beholden to shareholders and living for the almighty profit. No, this is a public company, answerable to the public through their representatives in Parliament. We should not be subjected to bully-boy tactics of negotiations. The commission should level with the Jamaican people, tell them the true figure that they wish to have and negotiate from there. If this is the negotiating stance it has taken then, in my estimation, the proposal should be rejected outright, and no increase even entertained until it comes with a more realistic number.
If the NWC was serious about its existence as a public utility then it would find a way to use its existing funding to plug the leaks which it admits results in a 70% loss of water in pipes. Will it be able to fix all the pipes and install new pipes in waiting communities? I doubt it very much, but it could put a serious dent in the issue by doing that.
It is obvious to anyone who wants to see it that the commission’s pipes are faulty and in need of repair, but to demand a 51% increase while we witness water on the roads due to shoddy pipes or sewage regularly overflowing onto streets and sidewalks is very oppressive. Use what you have currently, make do with it, and after fixing pipes, etc you can come and demand a rate hike.
The country has been experiencing drought of one sort or another since I was a young boy, over 30 years, so the fact that we are in a drought is not new, even if the length and strength of this one dwarfs all others. Jamaica has an abundance of water, especially water trapped in aquifers and elsewhere underground. With water being such a scarce commodity, it probably makes more sense to leave it in the ground for now and only use it as a last resort when all else has failed. What we should be focusing on is desalination as a means of getting water to a nation that is in desperate need of regular water access.
Desalination is the way to go. We are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the technology is such that while it is pricey to install and get running, it eventually pays for itself as people are, in theory anyway, more productive because of easy access to water. Desalination would solve the water issues in the rural parishes and could even see more persons connect to the NWC system as they seek to access reliable water services.
There are so many pressing issues facing the NWC that can be resolved without a rate hike. The fact that it is demanding one, and of this magnitude is unconscionable, and a slap in the face of people who receive limited or no water in their pipes and coming off the back of the biggest hurricane to hit the island. We must demand better and protest this proposal so that the OUR basically sees it as dead on arrival. Water is life and accessing it at low rates is something we should be looking to maintain, especially since the service does not meet standards we envision. Let us demand more and be done with what the NWC has.
