Customers of Manila Water will pay more while those of Maynilad will pay less in their water bills starting October 1.

EFFECTIVE October 1, water rates in the concession covered Manila Water Co. Inc. will increase while those in areas served by Maynilad Water Services Inc. will decrease.

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) yesterday said its board has approved the recommendation of the MWSS Regulatory Office (RO) to implement the fourth quarter foreign currency differential adjustment (FCDA) of water concessionaires, Manila Water. and Maynilad.

In a statement, MWSS said the approval was made on September 12 based on its evaluation of the FCDA proposals of the concessionaires.

The FCDA is a quarterly-reviewed tariff mechanism that allows concessionaires to recover losses or give back gains arising from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, as payments are made for foreign currency-denominated loans that are used to fund the expansion and improvement of water and sewerage services. It is a corrective mechanism formulated by the MWSS RO to avoid under-recovery or over-recovery caused by forex movements.

For the fourth quarter, Manila Water will implement an upward FCDA of 2.03 percent of its 2024 average basic charge of P42.26 per cubic meter, or P0.86 per cubic meter. 

Maynilad will apply a downward FCDA of -0.62 percent of its 2024 average basic charge of P47.57 per cubic meter, or -P0.29 per cubic meter.