| The existing Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) tariff structure does not currently meet social equity requirements. This assertion was made by Chief Executive of the water company, Shaik Baksh, in his attempt to justify why a revised tariff structure is warranted. Presenting his case to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), recently,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Baksh said that at the moment, residents of low income communities are required to pay the same service rates as high income earners.In fact, he disclosed that the GWI tariff structure has limited criteria for billing persons according to their ability to afford the service, thus emphasising that this does not benefit low income customers. He said, too, that the current structure does not promote conservation, since unmetered customers pay a standard service charge, regardless of the amount of water they would have utilised.“Conservation of our service is critical to its sustainability as well as reducing GWI’s energy cost. In the interest of joining with the national movement for energy conservation, a change to our current structure is vital,” Baksh insisted.This move is regarded as strategic since, according to him, it comes at a pivotal time in the development of the nation’s water sector. Moreover, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said that the proposal for a new tariff structure will seek to enhance the manner in which customers are billed.“With a new structure in place,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, GWI will be in a better position to correct a number of deficiencies that exist.The existing structure does not cater to changes and the cost of external factors such as increased electricity breaks. GWI is the largest customer to the Guyana Power and Light Company, however,cheap nfl jerseys china, our tariff structure has not been modified to account for the growing energy cost.”The structure,Jerseys From China, Baksh added, does not provide an adequate revenue base from which GWI can cover its operational cost. As such, a revised tariff regime will guide the company along the path of becoming financially viable. In order for the momentum towards improving access to potable water to be maintained, the CEO said that it is necessary for the company to generate adequate income which can be utilised in satisfying all operational costs and enhancing the service being provided to customers.Based on the PUC’s review of the GWI tariff structure in 2003, “the current tariff table has in excess of 20 different rate schedules,Arizona Diamondbacks Fernando Rodney Jersey, none of which have apparently been developed with the objective of making consumer prices reflect the costs of supplies. What is urgently needed is the development of a rational tariff schedule.”According to Baksh, it was with this in mind, coupled with the evident deficiencies of the sector, that a decision was made to approach the PUC to approve a consolidated tariff regime that allows for the establishment of a designated methodology for categorising customers.This move,NFL Jerseys From China, he explained, would allow for the differentiating of treated and non-treated water; billing of unmetered customers at a rate that is closer to the cost of their average consumption; reasonable discrimination between domestic and non-domestic rates; reasonable discrimination between customers in the hinterland, small towns and the more established communities.Baksh said the company is also requesting approval for the introduction for a fixed charge component of its tariff, among other modifications. |
