• Water bill to change according to electricity bill

 The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) is working on a pricing formula which would see water tariffs being adjusted on a biannual basis, The Sunday Morning learns.

NWSDB General Manager Dr. Wasantha Illangasinghe told The Sunday Morning that the pricing formula was currently under development. According to the NWSDB, the tariff adjustments may come online from December.

“The pricing formula is under preparation. There is also an Asian Development Bank (ADB) policy package and they are supporting us to develop it, along with the Water Board engineers and accountants,” Dr. Illangasinghe said.

She explained that one of the key reasons for the formula was the changes in electricity tariffs.  “The price formula is needed because the electricity tariff is supposed to increase or decrease twice a year, which will affect us directly. From our operational budget, around 20-30% goes for electricity, so it has a huge impact on our tariffs and operational costs.”

Dr. Illangasinghe went on to say that water tariffs would change in tandem with the electricity rates.

“That is why we got Cabinet approval – immediately after a change in the electricity tariffs, we will also make a change. This time as well, that is what happened – due to the February electricity bill, we put a proposal to the Finance Ministry by March to increase our tariffs, even though it was only approved in July. From December onwards, we will be making changes to the tariffs in accordance with the electricity tariffs.”