GEORGE TOWN, April 26 —The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) has received over 300 complaints over the increase in water tariff rate since the new rates were reflected in the March bill, said Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

The PBAPP chairman said the new tariff rates were enforced on February 1 so they have started receiving calls on high bills in March.

"We will continue to explain to the consumers the hike and calculations of the new rates,” he said in a press conference after launching the Northern International Audio and Visual Show Penang here.

He reiterated PBAPP’s explanations that the new water tariff rates were approved by the National Water Services Commission (SPAN).

He said Penang’s rates for the first band, at 62 sen for up to 20 cubic metres, remained the second lowest in the country.

"Penang is not the only state approved to increase the rates but all states too,” he said.

He said the rates for Penang’s domestic users have not been reviewed for almost 30 years, making it the state with the lowest rate in the country all these years.

He said the rate hike is necessary for PBAPP to implement various infrastructure projects under its water contingency plans to improve the state’s water resilience.

As for the bimonthly billing system, he said the cost to generate the full monthly will be more than the bill itself.

"This bimonthly system was implemented since the 1990s and actually, this bimonthly billing helps to lower the consumers’ bill compared to monthly billing,” he said.

Chow said bimonthly billing leads to savings from a few ringgit up to RM10 and RM15 for consumers.

He also said if the new water rate was divided by the number of people in a household, on average, each individual only spends 20 sen per day for water.

"I know people won’t like this explanation, it is a fact that even if the tariff rate increases, the cost is only dua kupang per day per individual on average,” he said.

Earlier today, Gerakan criticised PBAPP and the state government over the sharp hike in water tariff rates.

They said consumers have complained of sudden higher bills after the increase in rates.

Under the new rates, the first 20 cubic meters is at 62 sen (up 182 per cent from 22 sen), from 20 cubic metres to 35 cubic metres the rate is at RM1.17 (up 154 per cent from 46 sen) and for the third band of more than 35 cubic metres, the rate is RM2.07 (up 204 per cent from 68 sen).