By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, Jan 20 — State water services operator Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) has provided a detailed and transparent explanation of how the additional revenues from its adjusted water tariffs will be used.
The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) announced the implementation of water tariff adjustments on Wednesday (January 17), which is set to come into effect on February 1.
“As the water services provider in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya, the new water tariffs will enable Air Selangor to continue investing in building resilience and sustainable water.
“Thus, it ensures the continuity of water supply services for the well-being of our consumers in the future,” said the state agency in the frequently asked questions section of its explainer on its website released on Thursday (January 18).
Air Selangor said the expected benefits of the water tariff adjustments can be divided into six sections, beginning with water treatment plants (WTP).
“It will enable continuous water supply by constructing new WTPs to increase the water reserve margin to 20 per cent by 2030.
“They include the Rasau WTP Phase 1, which will be completed by 2025, the Pulau Ketam Desalination Treatment Plant (to be completed by 2026), the Rasau WTP Phase 2 (to be completed by 2028), and the Labohan Dagang WTP Phase 2 (to be completed by 2029),” it said.
Secondly, Air Selangor said the adjusted tariffs will also contribute to the pipe replacement programme, which will increase from 150km per year to 300km annually starting this year.
“It will subsequently increase by 400km per year from 2034 (onwards). This will enable the replacement of up to 5,000km in ageing pipes within 15 years (by 2040),” Air Selangor said.
The following are the remaining four measures to be taken from the tariff hike:
- Replacing pipes will consistently reduce the non-revenue water (NRW) rate to 27.5 per cent by next year and to 23.5 per cent by 2030.
- Asset upgrading works aimed to enhance the rehabilitation and improvement of constructing reservoirs and pump houses and installing new pipes in areas experiencing low water pressure. Nine reservoirs, 28 pump houses, and installation of new pipes in 23 locations are planned from 2024 to 2026. Additionally, 34 WTPS, eight dams, and four Off-River Storage facilities will undergo upgrading over three years each.
- To improve the water quality level by maintaining it at the Health Ministry’s 99 per cent standard by enhancing the cleaning of reservoirs and pipes to 321 and 11,833km, respectively.
- To enhance customer experience with more non-voice platforms expected to facilitate communication with users. Air Selangor also plans to upgrade its app and consumer complaint portal to a “super app” and “super web”.
Yesterday, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said that the state government will absorb the increased cost of water usage for over one million consumers following the tariff adjustment.
He said this involves 285,673 account holders currently participating in the Skim Air Darul Ehsan (SADE) free water programme and an additional RM5.5 million in subsidy per year to SADE beneficiaries.
Amirudin added that the new water tariffs would ensure water sustainability and allow Air Selangor to better maintain their pipes and improve water quality by installing more online analysers.
