CIJ opposes NWC’s proposed 51% tariff increase
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Consumers Intervention of Jamaica (CIJ) is sharply opposing the National Water Commission’s (NWC) move to seek a massive 51 per cent tariff increase over a five-year period.
The NWC disclosed the application to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), citing mounting operational costs, billions in unpaid debts, and high non-revenue water losses. However, CIJ President Michael Diamond argued that consumers should not be forced to subsidise decades of operational inefficiencies, massive water loss through leaks, and poor institutional management.
“It is the height of economic insensitivity for the NWC to ask struggling Jamaican families and small business operators to shoulder a staggering 51 per cent rate increase when three out of every four gallons of water they produce fail to generate revenue due to chronic leaks and systemic failures,” said Diamond.
“We cannot allow consumers to perpetually pay the price for internal waste and poor governance. We are calling on the Office of Utilities Regulation to firmly reject this application and force the NWC to fix its leaky pipes and accountability issues first.”
CIJ is urging the OUR to protect utility consumers who already grapple with the high cost of living, erratic supply, and frequent reliance on trucked water and demands that the NWC present a transparent recovery plan before imposing any further financial strain on the public.
