Date: 26th August 2024
Re: Water tariffs
Chamber of Commerce representatives have had meetings with the TTV Chair and senior management to voice member’s concerns about the application of proposed water tariffs.
TTV intends to begin invoicing commercial customers for water from 1 Nov (for the preceding month). Commercial customers are defined as all those who are, or should be, VAT registered, and this also includes all government buildings (except schools, which will be charged the Residential rate). The latest tariff structure proposed by TTV is as follows:
Commercial customers’ monthly tariff
> Up to 50,000 litres per month per connection $34
> Each subsequent block of 50,000 litres per month $68
Residential customers’ monthly tariff
> Up to 50,000 litres per month per connection $17
> Consumption between 50,000 litres and 100,000 litres $34
Government is proposing to provide a ‘free allocation’ of water for Residential customers, but the exact amount is still under discussion. Agricultural use where there is no electrical connection to the site, will not currently be charged.
Chamber has raised various concerns:
It remains unclear how TTV will avoid legal issues under the Consumer Guarantees Act, while they do not guarantee to consumers that the product/service they are selling is (Sec 6) “of acceptable quality” and “safe”.
It is also unclear if ‘per-litre’ consumption billing will commence when all water meters are installed, requiring a new tariff structure.
Government will be using public funds to pay TTV for the ‘free allocation’ for Residential users, and therefore will be obligated to undertake due diligence in applying public funds for the benefit of genuinely Residential dwellings only. Holiday homes and AirBnBs etc will not be eligible for a ‘free allocation’.
The Chamber has emphasized that it is paramount that the application of tariffs, and the decisions around who does and doesn’t pay in practice, is overtly seen to be fair and reasonable.
The Chamber is pressing TTV for a timeline towards acceptable pressure, reliability and potability of supply. TTV has stated that this is dependent on reducing consumption, a primary aim (and typical outcome) of charging a tariff. The advice is that a 20% reduction in consumption is achievable just from billing for water, and that this would improve pressure and reliability significantly. Once achieved, with tanks and ring-mains constantly full, then a program of internal flushing and cleaning of the pipes could begin, a prerequisite for any potability project.
The Chamber has raised that the billing of whole band amounts may be counterproductive as an incentive to reduce water consumption. Consumers exceeding the limit of one 50,000 litre increment have no incentive to save water up to the next increment.
Discussions are ongoing regarding the relative merits of either treating water at the reservoirs, or providing UV treatment at point-of-use for potable applications. The latter is likely to be more acceptable and cost-effective, and avoids the need for chemicals and mass treatment for water that does not require it.