As if households have not been hurt enough by rising electricity bills, the Metropolitan Waterworks Administration (MWA) and Provincial Waterworks Administration (PWA) on Sunday reportedly sent a signal that worse could be in store by telling the media they may have to increase tap water fees.
If endorsed by the cabinet, this would be the first time in 23 years the MWA has raised the rate -- and the first in a decade for the PWA.
The public was understandably outraged at the prospect. Deputy Interior Minister Naris Khamnurak reportedly insisted yesterday that neither agency had sent a proposal asking the cabinet to approve such a move.
Previously, MWA governor Manit Panaim lamented how the agency is facing a cashflow problem.
This is because it has to cough up an extra 20 million baht a month to cover the electricity fee, 150 million baht for land tax, 3 million baht a day (900 million baht a year) to buy water from the Irrigation Department to produce tap water, and 100 million baht to cover the cost of laying water pipes.
Such expenses could have elicited some sympathy from the public if the MWA's healthy balance sheet was not common knowledge. Over the past three years, the MWA has consistently turned a profit.
During the pandemic, it recorded 5.6 billion baht in profit (31.68% net profit) in 2020, 4.8 billion baht (26.6%) in 2021, and 3.1 billion baht (23.38%) for the first nine months of last year.
Meanwhile, the PWA generated 2.8 billion baht of net profit in 2021 -- roughly double that of the preceding year. Bear in mind; the PWA also received compensation from the government during the pandemic.
The MWA and PWA are both state enterprises operating almost like monopolies. Unlike the Electricity Generating Authority (Egat), they haven't faced any competition from the private sector.
They have unrestricted access to raw water to turn it into tap water and sell that directly to users.
Regardless of their business conditions, the truth of the matter is they were not created to turn a profit.
Instead of trying to pass the costs on to consumers, the MWA could discuss with the national government ways of reducing the 100-million-baht tax levied against it. It could also negotiate for cheaper raw water.
Indeed, the MWA should work harder to reduce the amount of water that leaks from the pipe system.
It has been reported that up to 30% of tap water leaks are as a result of the underground pipe system. Remedying this, and stemming such losses, could generate even more profit for the already highly lucrative operations of the MWA.
The PWA should focus on upgrading irrigation reservoirs, as well as the overall water system and water recycling infrastructure to secure enough water.
In crowded areas, and for some tourist cities such as Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, there are reports of tap water shortages that have forced operators to purchase much more expensive water from local private companies.
One thing that is rarely mentioned is that Thailand has a very low rate of water recycling. The MEA and PEA should collaborate with other government agencies to develop a system to reuse water instead of having to keep sourcing raw water that will become harder to find in the future. They also need to encourage the public to save water. There are many services and tasks both state agencies could do to serve the public better instead of raising the tap water fee.
