Maynilad defers Q2 water rate hike — MWSS-RO

West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. has deferred the implementation of its quarterly rate adjustment for the April to June 2025 period, according to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System-Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO).

At a press conference in Quezon City, MWSS-RO chief regulator Patrick Lester Ty announced that upon the agency’s recommendation, Maynilad has agreed to not apply Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA), which was supposed to take effect starting April 1, 2025.

The west zone concessionaire petitioned to hike its FCDA by P0.09 per cubic meter.

“I asked them [Maynilad] and they agreed,” Ty said, adding “if it’s for the public why not… the decision is theirs.”

In a separate statement, Maynilad said that it “regularly evaluates various factors when implementing FCDA adjustments, including foreign exchange movements and their impact on our loan obligations.”

“While the mechanism allows for quarterly adjustments, we considered it prudent to maintain rate stability for this period. Moving forward, FCDA adjustments will continue to be applied as needed, based on prevailing conditions,” the water concessionaire 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 that are 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.

Maynilad currently serves customers in the cities of Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Quezon, Valenzuela.

It also services certain areas in Cavite such as the cities of Bacoor, Cavite, and Imus; and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario. — RSJ/VBL, GMA Integrated News