The Utilities Ministry says with effect from January 1, next year, the state government would subsidise the costs of water and electricity supply for the people in its effort to provide an equitable level of basic amenities to all households in Sarawak. – AFP file photo
KUCHING: Sarawak’s Utilities Ministry is expecting a 2.5-fold increase in revenue from water royalty from the estimated RM220 million currently to about RM550 million next year due to an increase in tariffs for drawing raw water and in power generation.
It said in a statement today that the hike in tariffs would only affect utility service providers such as Kuching Water Board, Sibu Water Board, LAKU Management Sdn Bhd and Sarawak Energy Berhad.
“They will not affect the general public as there will be no change in both the electricity and water tariffs. They are anticipated to benefit the rakyat (people) because the spin-off effects will outweigh the additional costs incurred by the service providers,” it said, adding that the tariffs would generate more revenue for the implementation of infrastructure projects in the state.
It said the tariff for abstraction, taking, drawing of raw water from any stream, river, water courses or subterranean sources, as stipulated in Part VII of the Fourth Schedule of the Water Supply Regulations 1995, would be increased from the current one sen per cubic metre to two and a half sen per cubic metre, with effect from January 1, next year.
In addition, the tariff for taking or impounding of water from any river or stream for generation of electricity or electrical energy as stipulated in Part VIII of the Fourth Schedule of the Water Supply Regulations 1995, would be increased from the current one sen per kWh to two and a half sen per kWh of electricity generated.
The ministry also said with effect from January 1, next year, the state government would subsidise the costs of water and electricity supply for the people in its effort to provide an equitable level of basic amenities to all households in Sarawak.
Every household would enjoy free water for the first RM5 of the monthly domestic water bill, which is equivalent to about 11,300 litres of free water, the statement said.
“This free water programme will help to reduce the financial burden of the rakyat, especially for those in the low income group (B40) who need the assistance most. It will benefit about 600,000 households with domestic accounts across Sarawak and will cost the Sarawak Government about RM40 million per year.”
Besides subsidising the cost of water supply, the ministry said the state government would also be subsidising the cost of new electricity connections for low income urban households.
New connections costing up to RM5,000 will be provided free by the Sarawak government for such households.
“For new connections costing above RM5,000 up to RM10,000, the Sarawak government will subsidise 70 per cent of the connection cost, while the remaining 30 per cent will be borne by the applicant.
“Towards this end, the Sarawak government has allocated a sum of RM8 million in year 2020 to alleviate the financial burden of the low income urban households,” the ministry said.
It is estimated that a total of about 2,200 households would benefit from this initiative in 2020. This financial assistance is to complement the Sarawak government’s initiatives in providing electricity supply to the rural areas under its various on-going schemes under ‘Projek Rakyat’ (People’s Project).
Presently, free electricity connections are provided for the residents in villages and longhouses in the rural areas via the Additional Late Applicant Funds (ALAF) and the Rural Electrification Schemes (RES).
“All these initiatives are testimonies of the Sarawak government’s efforts to ensure that all the rakyat are provided with 24 hours of electricity supply,” said the ministry.