It appears the high cost of living being experienced in the country is not leaving anything to chance, with water prices also set to increase in Nairobi.
The Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) has applied to the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) to raise tariffs citing rising costs in delivering the water to residents.
In a gazette notice on Friday, WASREB said NCWSC, a fully-owned subsidiary of the Nairobi City County government, had applied for a regular tariff review ‘to enable the water utility to operate at full cost recovery and meet conditions necessary for improving service delivery’.
“Notice is given to the general public that Nairobi Water which provides water services by authority of a licence issued by Wasreb has applied to the Wasreb for a regular tariff review,” said the Authority.
The tariff reviews are usually done every three years, and the new tariff is expected to run for the next three-year cycle from the financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25.
Nairobi Water wants to raise the cost of water for small households and residential apartments that consume less than six cubic metres (m3) monthly from the current Sh34/m3 to Sh45/m3.
Those who consume more than 300m3 of water each month will pay Sh80/m3 up from the current tariff of Sh64 for the same quantity.
Multi-dwelling units and gated communities, that currently enjoy a subsidized tariff of Sh53/m3 will now be paying Sh67/m3.
Prices for Bulk water suppliers and Water Kiosks will rise by Sh2/m3 to Sh32 from Sh30, and Sh22 from Sh20 respectively. This is aimed at cushioning city dwellers who lack access to piped water and other water-starved areas of the city that rely on supply from bowsers and water kiosks.
Should WASREB approve the tariffs, Nairobi Water will be expected to increase water coverage in Nairobi from the current 82 percent to 85 percent within three years, improve water quality from 91 percent to 100 percent, and lower the ratio of water it supplies without deriving revenue from it to 41 percent from 46 percent.
Nairobi Water intends to use part of the revenue from the higher tariffs to pay loans from lenders such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank of Sh78.5 million due for payment next year, Sh78.1 million due in 2024 and Sh68.4 million in 2025.
