Opposition urges OUR to reject NWC’s 51% tariff increase application

Opposition Spokesperson on Water Ian Hayles is calling for the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to reject the National Water Commission’s (NWC) application for a 51 per cent tariff increase until the utility demonstrates that it is properly managing Jamaica’s water resources.

The application was disclosed at a meeting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday by acting NWC President Kevin Kerr, who said the submission was made to the OUR last Friday.

Kerr said the proposed increase is intended to support an investment plan to finance priority initiatives but indicated that the plan would have to be revised if the application is not approved.

He also said the public would have an opportunity to provide input through a consultation process facilitated by the OUR before a determination is made.

The NWC, which serves approximately 500,000 customers, has said the increase would help ensure that its revenues cover its expenses. Its last tariff increase was granted in 2019.

However, Hayles, in a statement today, said findings from the Auditor General’s performance audit of the NWC raised questions about the utility’s management and its ability to justify the proposed increase.

He noted that the audit found that there were no master plans for 17 priority projects valued at $394 billion and that there was no documented basis for ranking capital projects, with a framework not expected until March 2028.

The audit further revealed that the NWC’s payables had tripled from $10.6 billion in the 2016/17 financial year to $33.2 billion in 2025/26, while capital budgets had been underspent every year since 2019/20, Hayles said.

According to the opposition spokesman, the commission also consistently missed its non-revenue water and energy efficiency targets and had failed to submit four years of audited financial statements to Parliament.

“The NWC says this increase will fund its investment plan. The Auditor General says there is no master plan and no documented way of choosing projects,” Hayles said.

“Why should the people of Jamaica pay for the mismanagement of their water?”

Hayles noted that in his Sectoral Debate presentation in June he called for a national water master plan and a transparent system for selecting projects.

“In June I said this Ministry [of Water and Environment] was full of acronyms, branding and lofty goals. The Auditor General has now confirmed that behind the slogans is poor management, and Jamaicans are paying for it in dry pipes and trucked water,” Hayles said.

Citing inflation, Hayles argued that households were already under pressure, with some paying private truckers for water and others being billed for supplies they never received.

He said the Opposition wants the OUR, the Water Minister and the NWC Board to reject the application and consider no increase until the commission submits its outstanding audited accounts and presents a credible plan to reduce non-revenue water.

Hayles further said that it is also calling for the publication of a national water master plan, including transparent project selection criteria and quarterly progress reports to be tabled in Parliament.

Other proposals include stopping the billing of customers who receive no water, introducing a flat rate for pensioners and a social rate for households using up to 2,000 gallons monthly, and consolidating water governance under a single executive agency to provide customers with one point of accountability.

Hayles is also urging Jamaicans to participate in the OUR’s public consultation on the proposed increase.

“After 10years in power, this Government must stop managing announcements, start managing water and stop looking to the Jamaican people for a bailout,” he said.

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