Maynilad cuts rates, Manila Water maintains in Q3 2026

Customers of west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. should expect relief from July to September 2026 as the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) approved a downward adjustment in the water utility's tariff mechanism to recover from foreign currency fluctuations.

At a press briefing on Thursday, MWSS-Regulator Office chief regulator Patrick Ty announced that the MWSS Board of Trustees "approved the recommendation of the MWSS-RO to implement the Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) for the Third Quarter of 2026, based on its evaluation of the FCDA proposal of water concessionaire, Maynilad Water Services, Inc."

"The MWSS RO confirms a tariff rollback for Maynilad customers, effective July 1, 2026," Ty said.

The FCDA is a quarterly-reviewed tariff mechanism that allows water concessionaires to recover losses or give back gains arising from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, as payments are made for foreign currency-denominated loans used to fund the expansion and improvement of water and sewerage services.

It is a corrective mechanism formulated by the MWSS-RO to avoid under recovery or over recovery caused by foreign exchange movements.

For Maynilad, the MWSS approved a downward tariff adjustment of P0.01 per cubic meter for the third quarter to P0.12 per cubic meter from P0.13 per cubic meter in the second quarter of 2026.

The impact of Maynilad's tariff adjustment on its regular customers would be a decrease of P0.34, P1.29, and P2.66 in the water bills of those consuming 10 cubic meters, 20 cubic meters, and 30 cubic meters, respectively.

On the other hand, rates of east zone concessionaire Manila Water will remain unchanged.

"Meanwhile, Manila Water, which serves the east concession area, will not implement any adjustment at this time, as the computed adjustment is less than P0.01 per cubic meter and is impractical to implement," Ty said.

"The concessionaire will continue applying its previously approved FCDA equivalent to 0.76% of its 2026 Average Basic Charge of P50.70 per cubic meter, or P0.39 per cubic meter," he said. — VDV, GMA News