MAYNILAD Water Services Inc. is set to replace 135,000 old water meters within its concession area as part of its meter-management program.
In a statement, Maynilad said P428 million of the P558 million it has allotted for the program will be spent for the replacement of old meters to avoid billing errors caused by the old, inaccurate meters.
The program aims to reduce water loss in its concession area this year. Maynilad is the private water contractor of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, composed of certain portion of the cities of Manila and Quezon City, Makati (west of South Superhighway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite province.
Of the total, P40 million has been earmarked for the upgrade of some mechanical meters to electromagnetic meters, which allows for automatic meter reading, while the remaining P90 million will be used for the assessment and maintenance of water meters in primary distribution lines, as well as the installation of new meters for recently connected accounts, the statement said.
Maynilad’s meter-replacement program is intended to improve billing accuracy and reduce meter malfunctions which contribute to the commercial losses of Maynilad. Commercial losses refer to the volume of water lost due to theft and inaccuracies in metering and data handling. Maynilad estimates that commercial losses account for 24 percent of its nonrevenue water. Since 2012, when the program was launched, the company has started replacing small meters manufactured from 2005 and older. The project seeks to replace an average of 150,000 meters every year. As of March 2016, Maynilad recovered 28 million liters per day through its meter-replacement program.
“Water meters only have an optimum life span of about seven years. Given this, the timely replacement of water meters is essential so our customers can be assured that Maynilad records and bills their consumption accurately,” said President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez.
1 comment
A reminder why saying that water should be free is a gross oversimplification.