Water consumption will be more expensive. if? Polish Waters does not want to succumb to pressure from municipal companies

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In the absence of an increase in tariffs, it will be necessary to significantly reduce investments, including those aimed at meeting Polish and European legislation. This could lead to sanctions against Poland – says Koszutska-Taciak.

Aquanet representative adds that It is even possible to limit current activities, including those that involve repairing faults in the water supply network.

Last year, the approval process for the new water and wastewater tariffs for the next three years was implemented. At the time, 90 percent were approved. Submitted requests. This year, nearly 300 water supply companies have applied to regional water management boards, requesting that prices be adjusted according to prevailing conditions. As Rzeczpospolita reported at the end of July, approvals were issued in only a dozen cases with more than 80 denials. Negative decisions were said, inter alia, “not to justify changes in economic conditions, the volume of services and the conditions for their provision, which could form the basis for a tariff reduction.”

Requests for price checks are, among others, the Municipal Water and Sanitation Company in Lublin. The company stimulates demand above all else Increase in electricity purchase prices At 369% an increase in sewage sludge disposal and management costs by 260%. A standard inflation. Currently, the net price of water supplied in the municipality is PLN 3.89 per cubic meter, and PLN 5.16 for sewage disposal and treatment.

Interestingly, there are exceptions. This year, among others, the waterworks in Kilchi. The company argues that it should not try to change tariffs thanks to the savings and investments made.

Why is Polish Waters reluctant to raise interest rates? – The fact that we are resuming the process (tariff – editor’s note) does not mean that we will blindly accept all proposals. We will carefully analyze all factors. Especially the water and wastewater companies paid dividends to local governments, which was the case before – said the then head of the Polish water company Przemyslaw Dhaka at the beginning of August.

This approach may be surprising, given the words of the President of the Chamber of Commerce “Wodociągi Polskie”, Krzysztof Dąbrowski. – The main reasons why a quick tariff adjustment is necessary include the increase in electricity and gas, the increase in consumer prices, inflation and the need for higher wages.. We have decided that requests for tariff changes focused on these elements have a chance – Dibrovsky said. It seems easy for applicants to meet the above criteria.

At the moment it is difficult to judge As long as prices go up in the fall or winter. National prices vary. In May this year, the average increase in water prices was 8.33 percent. In total, the average increases in collective water supply and wastewater disposal in Poland were at the level of 9.42%. “Most of the increases are a few percent, however, there are applications where companies want to increase the price by tens or even 100 percent.” – The portal “wGospodarce” wrote in the spring.

Higher increases will also have a pro-inflation effect, which is why I appeal to local government officials to limit the transfer of costs to residents. The solution that limits the increases is also a reduction in rental fees or a temporary reduction in taxes on water and sewage infrastructure – said the former president of Polish Waters.

The government is speaking in the same vein. – We know times are tough. We are all affected by the effects of war and high inflation. This is why we want water and sanitation prices not to increase dramatically. However, if growth was necessary, it did not lead to social exclusion. Water should be available to everyone – said in July Marek Gróbarczyk, State Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, State Commissioner for Water Management. Recharging should be completed by the end of 2022.

Paweł Gospodarczyk, journalist at money.pl