Board Resolution No 16-2020 promulgated during the August 13 regular BOD meeting via Zoom stated that “pursuant to its obligations under the law and in the exercise of its discretionary power to approve proposed tariff increase, the SCWD Board of Directors resolves to defer the approval of the proposed tariff rates, until…conditions are appropriately met…”
The proposed tariff adjustment was applied by PrimeWater with the National Water Resources Board in August 2019 and subsequently requested the BOD for its implementation on February this year. The SCWD BOD and Management, however, resolved to defer its approval due to a number of issues and concerns, including the prevailing water situation in the SCWD service area presently operated and maintained by PrimeWater-Sorsogon City as evidenced by PrimeWater’s satisfaction rating of only 34.4% (Customer Satisfaction Survey; January 6 - February 28, 2020).
For the water rates to be approved, the SCWD Board set the following conditions for PrimeWater: (1) revise tariff rates based on the approved SCWD PrimeWater JVA; (2) comply with service obligations (service coverage, provisions of continuous water supply, drinking water standard, septage management and water safety plan); (3) create a 2020 comprehensive short-term plan and submit detailed accomplishment report from 2016 to present; and (4) develop additional water sources such as Rangas River, Bacon District and deepwell sources at Sitio San Lorenzo, Macabog and Cabid-an.
The Board also required that the Local Water Utilities Administration and not the NWRB be the agency to review PrimeWater’s proposed tariff rate adjustment, before they grant its approval.
The BOD further stated that they are most willing to comply with the conditions under Section 8.2.2 of the JVA as the approval of the proposed tariff rate is a contractual obligation to which they will not shirk from performing.
“However, the Board and Management will not hesitate to defer the implementation of the said provision if only to protect the greater public interest that is paramount in the administration of water district utilities,” the resolution concluded.
The decision was arrived at after a series of meetings and dialogues between the SCWD BOD and Management and key officials of PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. as well as consultation with SCWD legal counsel Atty. Ian L. Macasinag, who stated, among others, that it is LWUA and not NWRB who shall approve the proposed tariff adjustment.