– unmetered car washes to be targeted; steep tampering fines proposed
With the entity’s revenues dropping, the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) will be cracking down on a number of delinquent water users; of which unmetered car washes are among those in its sights.
This was revealed during the first public hearing before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and consumer representatives into GWI’s proposed rate hikes; a hearing that saw the entity facing questions about what it planned to do with
Car washes are in the cross hairs of GWI
those who do not pay their fair share.
GWI Chief Executive Officer, Dr Richard Van West-Charles sought to assuage those concerns, noting that steps are being taken to protect the company’s losses. In fact, the entity is even contemplating hikes in fines for tampering.
“The public has been very helpful in helping us find many people who are stealing. The people that are stealing are not necessarily small people. They are big, commercial people,” Dr Van West-Charles explained.
“We are metering every car wash and the people to the left, right, back and front of the car washes. If they give access to a car wash, they give access at their own cost,” the CEO made clear.
Dr Van West-Charles revealed that a $50,000 fine for domestic customers found to be tampering with connections or the meters is on the table; while a $100,000 fine for commercial customers is also being proposed.
For unmetered residential properties, GWI is already proposing a monthly fixed charge of $500 along with $1500 per month. Their metered counterparts face charges of $500 per month and $112 per cubic meter. For unmetered pensioners, a water usage charge of $740 per month is proposed, while the fixed charge will be waived.
Metered non-residential customers face a monthly charge of $500 and a monthly consumption charge of $150 per cubic meter. Unmetered non-residential customers are charged based on the category of their operations… small, medium and large.
All these categories are proposed to pay a fixed monthly charge of $500. In the case of small operations, it is proposed that they pay $3750 per month, while medium operations are facing a $12,000 charge. Large scale consumers can end up paying $24,000.
For the sewerage tariff, GWI is proposing $417 per month for residential customers and pensioners; while a monthly charge of $2860 is being proposed for non-residential metered and unmetered small-scale consumers. Medium-scale consumers are facing a $4350 fee and large-scale consumers, a $6375 per month fee.
These charges exclude ancillary charges, which will encompass fees, including reconnection charges.
