Water bills to rise as Manila Water, Maynilad pay more for weaker peso

Residents in Metro Manila and adjacent areas will see their monthly water bills rise in the next three months as the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) approved the foreign currency adjustments (FCDA) of its two concessionaires.

In separate statements, Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc. announced rate adjustments that the MWSS Regulatory Office approved for the third quarter of 2017.

The MWSS RO approved an FCDA hike of 11 centavos per cubic meter (cu.m.) for Maynilad and P1.21 per cu.m. for Manila Water.

The FCDA is designed to allow the concessionaires to recover losses or give back gains resulting from the fluctuations in the value of the peso against other currencies.

Both companies are servicing foreign currency-denominated loans, the proceeds of which are used in the improvement and expansion of their services.

Maynilad said it also pays similarly denominated concession fees to the MWSS. Manila Water pays for concession loans to and foreign currency-denominated borrowings of the MWSS.

The increase in the concessionaires’ FCDAs reflect the depreciation of the peso against foreign currencies over the past three months.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the peso hit P50.449 against the greenback at the start of July 28, further weakening to P51.143 as of Sept. 15.

For Manila Water, the adjustment “is based on the exchange rates of US$1: P50.6382 and 1 yen:P0.4504.”

Maynilad, meanwhile, said the rate adjustments mean a household that uses 10 cubic meters of water or less each month will see a 34-centavo increase in the bill.

Households that use 20 cubic meters a month will pay P1.54 more, while those using 30 cubic meters a month will pay an additional P2.60.