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About 300,000 households will be slapped with
a fixed-rate water charge - irrespective of the quantity of
water they use.
A Department of Environment-funded report has, for the first
time, estimated how many homes will be metered under the water
charges scheme.
The research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that 1.35
million households would be on public water supplies when
the system was up and running. However, only 1.05m would be
able to be included in a universal metering programme.
About 300,000 - including most of the apartments in the country
- will, instead, have fixed water charges levied on them no
matter how much or how little water they use.
The PwC report says - 'The remaining households on public
supplies, which would be either too expensive or technically
difficult to meter individually initially (e.g. houses with
shared service connections and houses in multi-occupancy premises
such as apartment or flat complexes and gated communities),
will have charges levied on a fixed basis'.
The Government has said households will get a "free allowance"
for water usage, but charged for consuming above a threshold.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Phil Hogan confirmed
that 300,000 households would get fixed water charges. However,
she said some exemptions from the charges were possible if
a low rate of water consumption was achieved. "The regulator
will decide this based on average assessments of other homes
under the metering system."
Some apartment blocks may also be able to have water meters
installed outside them, she said.
Up to 90% of households, which can be metered, will be metered
by the end of 2014 at a cost of €500m.
Mr Hogan said that the rollout of the water metering programme
would initially create up to 2,000 jobs. He said that once
the system was in place, it could raise up to €600m, which
would be put toward maintaining services.
Charges for domestic water users will not be known until
a regulator decides on the matter.
The interim board of Irish Water, a new public utility company
to oversee charges and the delivery of services, will be decided
this year. The full transfer of services and metering is expected
to be complete by 2017.
The report on planned water services and charges found that
operating costs for water services here were 50% to 100% more
expensive than in Britain and the North. Leakage levels are
also double the British average.
Mr Hogan’s officials have dismissed as "speculative" claims
that average household charges for water could be between
€250 and €400 per year.
The department is seeking the public’s views on the scheme.
The Government considered alternatives to a metering scheme
for water charges. Other options highlighted by PwC included
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- A universal fixed charge
This would raise revenue without water meters. However,
this approach did not address concerns about the conservation
of water or leakages.
- Opt-in approach
Households could choose to accept meters or a fixed charge.
This would allow a more phased approach to metering and
allow households choose how they want to pay. However, installation
costs could be higher for 'water conscious' users who opt
for meters.
- Meter-specific classes of property
This included area-based metering or targeting areas with
water scarcity. Metering could be targeted at newly built
units which are meter ready or charging high-volume users.
However, there would be 'inefficiencies' in the overall
cost of metering.
- Investment in water mains rehabilitation
Only 3.5% of fixing pipes and networks would be covered
by using funds that would go to the metering system. This
alternative focus would also only reduce leaks by about
5%. Mains rehabilitation does not address leakage issues
or impact on consumer behaviour, the report said.
- Longer lead-in for metering
Rolling out a metering programme over 10 years, rather than
the envisioned 6, could see an average 100,000 households
metered per year. Households would pay a fixed charge while
the longer programme was being rolled out. However, there
would still be about 500,000 households on a flat charge
by 2021 under this scheme.
Download - Irish Water: Phase 1 Report - Click
Here [3.31MB]
Download - Irish Water: Phase 1 Report Appendices
- Click
Here[1.82MB]
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