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Jakarta Water Providers Deny Rate Increase
Arientha Primanita | May 27, 2010

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Jakarta’s water operators on Wednesday denied there were plans to raise water tariffs, but said some customers were being charged more because they had changed the designation or increased space in their buildings.

The City Council’s Commission C, which oversees budget issues, summoned state-owned PAM Jaya and its two private-sector partners PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya (Palyja) and PT Aetra Air Jakarta (Aetra) to discuss the alleged tariff increases.

Aetra president Syahril Japarin said that many of his company’s customers had changed the function or the size of their building and consequently had been moved to another tariff category.

Aetra, he said, surveyed 7,655 users in central Jakarta’s Balai Pustaka and East Jakarta’s Gudang Air this year.

He said around 3,079 clients were notified that from April on their rates would increase because of changes in building surface, structure, quality and function. Syahril said the different customer categories were based on the 2007 Gubernatorial Decree on the Automatic Water Tariff Adjustment.

The conversion also worked the other way, albeit at a much smaller percentage.

About 75 clients were reclassified into a lower tariff group when their buildings were converted from a business into a residence, he said.

“Our decision is based on the regulation, there is nothing wrong with it,” he said, adding that 76 percent of his clients were in the lower tariff groups with rates at Rp 1,050 to Rp 5,500 per cubic meter.

Herawaty Presetyo, vice president of Palyja, said that from its 412,000 consumers, 70 percent pay tariffs below production cost, meaning the company was operating at a loss.

Herawaty said that the company has been updating its consumer data since 2007 by checking on water usage and taking pictures of client homes that have been renovated.

She said the tariff adjustment has been conducted gradually to minimize the impact on poor families and that about 7,000 users saw their charges move upward into a higher charge bracket last year.

However, the Council’s Commission C pointed to the need for an improvement in the water companies’ performance and ability to provide clean, potable water before it rolls out fee increases to the public.

Husna Zahir, chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI), backed that call, urging the two operators to be clear when handing out information about rate hikes and ensuring families have enough time to adjust to the changes.

“Consumers should not be shocked by the sudden hike in their water bills,” Husna said.

“There definitely should be an agreement between consumers and the companies,” she added.