The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) says a rate adjustment of 5.11 per cent is applicable to the base rates of the National Water Commission (NWC) which it says will make the indices reflective of current costs.

The OUR said in a news release Tuesday that it made the decision having reviewed NWC’s Annual Price Adjustment Mechanism (ANPAM) submission in March.

It noted that the ANPAM change is not a rate increase to NWC, but simply an adjustment to NWC’s base tariff which reduces the level of monthly PAM adjustments customers see on their bills.

According to the OUR, the annual reset of the PAM, called ANPAM, is the process by which the regulator verifies and confirms the monthly PAM adjustments over the preceding period and rolls the cumulative PAM adjustments since the last reset, into the base rates approved for each of the three indices– Foreign Exchange Rate, Consumer Price Index and Electricity Charge.

This effectively updates the base rates making them reflective of current costs, the OUR explained.

It noted that with the monthly application of the PAM, customers’ bills are already reflective of current rates and movements in each of the three indices.

“The ANPAM, therefore, is merely a ‘true up’ mechanism to ensure that the approved base rates for the indices going into the next year catch up with, and are more reflective of, the rates already being applied to customer billing,

The OUR said the new base indices for the PAM are as follows:

-Foreign Exchange Rate: JM$154.89 to US$1.00;

-Consumer Price Index: 127.80

-Electricity Charge: $55.92/kWh.

“These revised base rates are to remain in effect until the next programmed reset of the ANPAM in 2024 April, or if new rates, by way of a five-year tariff review are decided earlier,” the OUR said.

In the meantime, the OUR said in accordance with the NWC’s request, no adjustment will be made to its miscellaneous/reconnection fees.