Water concessionaire Manila Water Co., Inc. said on Monday that it would extend anew the effectivity period for its revised concessions agreement (RCA) with the government.
Manila Water and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) signed a third amendment to extend the start of the effectivity of the RCA to Feb. 16, 2022.
“This is to allow the parties more time to fulfill the remaining conditions to the effectivity of the RCA,” the company said in a stock exchange disclosure.
The RCA introduces a tariff freeze until Dec. 31, 2022 to help consumers recover from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
It also includes a tariff adjustment for inflation that will be two-thirds of the consumer price index (CPI) and the removal of the foreign currency difference adjustment to prevent tariff spikes.
Both parties signed an amendment in Sept. 30 that extended the period for effectivity to Nov. 18, and a second amendment in Nov. 18 that extended it to Dec. 18.
In November, Manila Water decided to waive its water rate increases for 2021 due to the MWSS’s rate-rebasing adjustment.
All debt and expenditures of the concessionaire will also be reviewed and approved by the regulatory office. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson