Lower Water Rates For 500,000 Households
by Salina Khalid, The Star Online - Metro, 30-May-2007
ALMOST half a million high-rise residential unit owners in
Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya can enjoy lower water tariff rate
if they migrate from the bulk to individual water meter.
Selangor Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman Datuk
Abdul Fatah Iskandar said as of April 24 this year, there were a total
of 1,309 bulk meter accounts from condominiums and apartments within
Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and another 1,056 bulk meter
accounts from low-cost flats.
?If all of these bulk meter accounts were to migrate then we will have
a total of 420,000 new individual meter accounts in Selangor, Kuala
Lumpur and Putrajaya.
?And all of these residents staying at apartments, condominium and
low-cost flats will be paying the same water rate as other residential
types (landed),? said Fatah.
Changing to individual water meter will allow flats, apartment and
condominium owners to pay only 57 sen per cubic metre instead of RM1.38
per cubic metre for apartments and condominiums and 80 sen per cubic
metre for low-cost flats that they now pay.
Giving the low-down: Syabas executive director Thien Kwee Sim giving a
briefing on the newly released guidelines for migration from bulk water
meter accounts to individual metering for high-rise residential units
at the Selangor State Secretariat Building in Shah Alam on Monday.
They will also be charged a minimum bill of RM6 per month instead of
the current RM35 under the bulk metering system.
However consumers will also be billed according to their individual
water consumption.
Under the individual meter rate, consumers will be charged RM1.30 for
usage above 20 cubic metres and RM2 per cubic metre for consumption
above 35 cubic metres.
He added that those living in high-rise residential buildings like
apartments, condominiums and flats were paying the same rate as
commercial users all this while.
?We (the Selangor state government) have been receiving complaints from
these residents for many years.
?Some of them complained that their bill was higher than those staying
in bungalow lots,? he said.
He said the accounts for the bulk meter were under the name of the
management corporations (MCs) or the developers, so the rates were
based on commercial rates.
Water is supplied to the residential premises through a bulk meter.
The water supply is then diverted to individual sub-meters for the
residents? individual unit.
A bulk water bill is sent to the management company, who in turn will
charge the units for the amount of water used.
Problems arise when some of the residents fail to settle their water
bills over a period of time, causing arrears to accumulate over the
years.
Sometimes it leads to the termination of water supply to the whole
building, causing anger to those who have paid bills on time.
?The MC cannot touch their water meter or cut the supply if they adopt
the individual meter,? said Fatah.
He added although application for the migration could only be applied
by the MCs, residents could put pressure on them if they want the
individual meters.
He said Syabas and the Selangor Water Monitoring Department (JKAS)
could help disseminate information about the migration by organising
talks with the residents.