The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has confirmed that the rate of 5.11% is applicable to the National Water Commission’s base rates.

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

The OUR states that the annual Price Adjustment Mechanism change is not a rate increase to NWC.

The utility explains that it is simply an adjustment to NWC’s base tariff which reduces the level of monthly PAM adjustments customers see on their bills.

The annual reset of the PAM is the process by which the OUR 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.

These are: foreign exchange rate, consumer price index and electricity charge.

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

A statement from the OUR says with the monthly application of the PAM, customers’ bills are already reflective of current rates and movements in each of the three indices.

The PAM 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 revised base rates are to remain in effect, until the next programmed reset of the PAM in April next year or if new rates, by way of a five-year tariff review are decided earlier.