MONTHLY SANITARY APPLIANCES FEE

Column: 3165

MONTHLY SANITARY APPLIANCES FEE: 8.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry will consider scrapping the monthly sanitary appliances fee of $3 per sanitary fitting as there is already a waterborne fee of $0.30 per cubic metre for water used.

Column: 3166

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources): PUB currently charges a Sanitary Appliances Fee (SAF) of $3 per month for each sanitary fitting, and a Waterborne Fee (WBF) of $0.30 per cubic metre for domestic customers and $0.60 per cubic metre for non-domestic customers. The WBF alone is insufficient to recover the costs for used water services.

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources had informed the House at the Committee of Supply 2008 that MEWR and PUB are looking into restructuring used water charges into a single volumetric fee. When we decide to do so, the volumetric rates will be revised taking into account PUB's cost for the maintenance of the used water system and treatment of the used water. We are studying the options and implementation details.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Sir, can the Senior Parliamentary Secretary give an indication whether this restructuring of the fees is likely to lead to an increase in the overall fee for the consumer and whether the PUB can keep any of these fee changes non-inflationary?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: I thank the Member for his question. First, I would like to say that our motivation to restructure the used water charges really is to rationalise the current pricing structure. This is to remove some anomaly because some consumers with more sanitary appliances would have to pay more even if they use the same amount of used water. This is also to remove the perception of double-charging as the current pricing structure has got the Sanitary Appliances Fee component and the volumetric Waterborne Fee component.

Column: 3167

In addition, a fully volumetric rate with no fixed charges will strengthen our water conservation message because it will be 'you-pay-for-what-you-use'. I think this is also in line with the pricing structure that is adopted in some other developed cities like New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and so on. So the restructuring of the SAF and WBF per se is meant to be revenue neutral. However, the removal of the SAF, when we shift to a new single-volumetric pricing structure, would entail a structural change to the used water fee. So there will inevitably be a sector of consumers who would experience some decline in their bill size, as well as another sector of consumers who would experience some increase in their bill size.

We are mindful of the current cost environment, so we are studying the impact of this new pricing structure on the households very carefully. We have not come to a decision as to the rates to charge, as well as to the implementation date. But I would like to assure the Member and the House that we will definitely consider prevailing cost and economic environment when we decide to move, and we will seek to mitigate any negative impact on the consumers with the view to ensuring that on average most of the water users would be no worse off with the revised price structure.

Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh): The Senior Parliamentary Secretary mentioned that some will be paying more and some will be paying less. Is there any indicator of the percentage of those who would expect to pay more or less?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: We are looking at the various options, and we are looking at various pricing rates for domestic as well as non-domestic consumers. So the indication really varies, depending on the rates that we will be using. But, like I said, what we will seek to assure the House is that we will mitigate any negative impact on the consumers.