Price of water set to rise

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UTILITIES

Price of water set to rise
By Thanapat Kitjakosol
The Nation 2011-07-16

East Water says increase to Bt10 per unit can no longer be put off

Despite huge investments, East Water will still have to increase the fees for water supplied to households and industrial clients next year to Bt10 per unit from the current rate of Bt9.25.

Speaking at the Singapore International Water Week, held from July 5 to 7, East Water CEO Praphan Assawaaree said provinces in the East of Thailand would need as much as 400 million cubic metres by 2017, compared to 240 million units last year.

He said the hike had been delayed to next February, even though the fee was meant to be increased to Bt10 last year and Bt10.75 this year. "The increases [at the rates specified] are necessary, because East Water is already shouldering Bt100 million in interest costs alone," he added.

Existing East Water clients will pay Bt9.25 per unit until next February, though all new clients will be charged at the new rate of Bt10. The increases were initially scheduled to rise to 10.75 per unit in 2012 and Bt11.55 by 2013, he added.

East Water charges household and industrial clients different rates. No details were available to check if the Bt9.25 per unit rate is higher or lower than the fees charged by the Metropolitan and Provincial Waterworks Authorities.East Water estimates that up to 275 million units would be consumed this year, compared to 240 million units used last year. There was a severe shortage of water in 2005, when 180 million units were used by industrial estates alone.

He said East Water was trying to keep the loss of water at 3 per cent, which already costs the company a total of Bt90 million. "But this is a technical problem faced by other agencies, some of which lose up to 30 per cent of water piped out," he explained.

Citing the desalination technique, which Singapore is seeking so it can produce fresh water on its own instead of relying on Malaysia, Praphan said Thailand would not need it because it had its own supply of fresh water. He said desalination could be used in islands like Phuket or Samui, which generated enough income from tourism to afford it.

Instead, Praphan said, the government should work out concrete policies and invest more in water supply and floodmanagement at the national level. He said the inconsistency and lack of interest in both issues confused the business sector and affected their strategies.

For instance, he said, the lack of regulations and proper expansion plans meant that Pattaya would suffer water shortage and flooding in the long run.

Singapore, meanwhile, is planning to stop purchasing water from Malaysia by 2060 and has started building a network of desalination plants.

East Water's own water grid is 340 kilometres in size, and it is building and pumping water from four major reservoirs as well as the Bang Pakong and Rayong rivers. It delivered 671,000 units daily to its clients last year.

The Singapore International Water Week 2011 attracted 510 companies from 39 countries. Praphan said East Water's role at this year's event offered it a good opportunity to strengthen investors' confidence in Thailand and open the door to better industrial prospects.