There is no plan to increase local water tariffs this year, director Susana Wong of the Water and Marine Bureau (DSAMA) said yesterday on the sidelines of a Macao Water event.
She recalled that the last tariff adjustment happened in 2016. Since then, the cost of water supply from the mainland has seen several incremental increases, with another 7% increase this year. Currently, the mainland charges Macau RMB2.59 per cubic meter of water supplied.
Wong explained that the adjustment factor lies mainly in the consumer price index for the three previous years. In recent years, the local government has used over MOP200 million on water bill sponsorship per year.
Nacky Kuan, executive director at Macao Water, disclosed at the same occasion that 2.3% more water was supplied during the past five months year-on-year, with the month of May alone seeing a 7% year-on-year increase. Despite this, there is still some distance to catch up with water usage in 2019, she added.
Commercial water consumption has increased in the past five months, but less water was used in domestic consumption, mainly because people have resumed external travel. In addition, she believes that this summer will see a 4% to 5% increase in water consumption year-on-year. aL
