LIMASSOL’S Water Board will raise the district’s water charges as of January 1, 2011, increasing average bills for households by up to as much as 30 per cent.
The rest of the island’s water boards are expected to follow suit.
The matter was raised at yesterday’s House Commerce Committee, which discussed the increased charges imposed by state services, as well as municipalities and community councils.
MPs said the new water charges would be a further blow to suffering consumers, who are already bulking under the pressure of the economic crisis.
According to the data submitted by Limassol’s water board, there will be a 30 per cent increase on household water bills and a 22 per cent increase for industry. This means for the first 40 cubic metres of water used, a household will have to pay €0.96 per cubic metre of water, as opposed to the current €0.74. And industry will have to pay €1.04 instead of €0.85 per cubic metre. These will be accompanied by an increase in fixed charges and maintenance duties.
“Limassol Water Board is planning to increase its charges at the start of 2011 by 30 per cent,” said DIKO’s Angelos Votsis. “This is something that will cause even more problems for Cypriot consumers, who are already going through tough times.”
He said a good way to restrict these increases would be to put an end to the water leaks and thefts, which are leading to 22 per cent of water being lost.
“If we manage to install modern systems to stop this from happening, we will find a way to impose smaller increases,” he explained.
Limassol was the only district to present the Committee with data; however, spokesmen for the remaining water boards said increases would be inevitable, considering that Cyprus’ water supply now comes from desalination plants.
The Committee also discussed the excessively high duties imposed by municipalities and community councils, especially for rubbish collections.
It emerged that in Larnaca the specific duty had increased by 300 per cent. In fact, EDEK’s George Varnava announced that rubbish collection duties in Dasaki Achnas had increased from €100 to €250.
“At times of a financial crisis, when unemployment is increasing by the day; when the high cost of living is baring its teeth with daily and repetitive increases on consumption goods, we have in front of us simultaneous increases by various services, such as electricity, water supply and telecommunications,” said Varnava.
Committee Chairman, DISY’s Lefteris Christoforou, added: “There are increases in communal services that have exceeded 200 to 300 per cent. Bills from state and semi-state organisations demand an entire household’s salary if they are to make ends meet.”
