KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — The National Water Service Commission (SPAN) today announced an increase of 22 sen per cubic metre of consumption that will affect users in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan.

According to national news agency Bernama, the commission said the increase would be imposed starting February 1.

However, SPAN said that water tariffs in the country would remain comparatively low despite the increase, and was still inadequate for the actual costs to reliably supply the entire country.

"This increase is still low and cannot cover the actual cost of providing water supply service, which is RM1.75 per cubic metre based on the actual record of 2022,” SPAN said in a statement today.

The commission said the increase will be imposed under the Tariff Setting Mechanism (TSM) that is reviewed every three years to ensure that rates were appropriately set.

SPAN said the increase was necessary to ensure utility firms could continue investing in infrastructure upgrades and maintenance to ensure reliable supply of safe drinking water.

It went on to urge the utility firms in the affected states to retain existing assistance schemes for low-income households and ensure the increase would not cause such groups financial burden.

The commission also advised consumers to adopt water conservation practices as well as to opt for products included under SPAN’s Water-Efficient Product Labelling Scheme.

* A previous version of this report erroneously stated that the increase would apply to Sabah. The error has since been corrected.