SINGAPORE - There are 150,000 households who owe payment for water bills, of which about 1,200 have arrears of at least $250, said Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Desmond Tan on Tuesday (April 5).
Altogether, this amounts to about 10 per cent of 1.39 million households in Singapore.
National water agency PUB installs flow restrictors to reduce the flow of water for households owing at least $250 in arrears, he told Parliament.
This measure does not completely shut off the water supply because access to water is a necessity for drinking and basic hygiene, he said, adding that the normal flow of water will be restored once the outstanding bills are paid.
About 13,000 households here have electricity accounts in arrears, Mr Tan added in response to Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio GRC), who asked for details on Singaporean and permanent resident households who have arrears in electricity and water bills.
The regulated tariff for electricity paid by about half of the households in Singapore has risen for the fifth consecutive quarter. Last Friday, the tariff spiked by almost 10 per cent.
Meanwhile, water prices were last raised by 30 per cent in two phases over 2017 and 2018.
On average, a four-room Housing Board flat pays $53 each month for water bill, based on consumption data in 2017.
Mr Gan also asked if the pre-paid meter scheme Pay-as-You-Use for electricity users can be expanded to cover those owing water bills.
Launched in 2005, the scheme allows households to pre-pay for credits to use electricity without having their supply disconnected, with 20 per cent of the credit payment used to settle outstanding arrears.
Mr Tan noted that the scheme is currently offered to electricity customers who have accumulated at least $400 of overdue payment.
Since August last year, PUB has been trialling a similar scheme that allows households who owe arrears to access water at the normal flow rate through paying for credits in advance, of which 20 per cent goes towards settling their arrears, he said.
There are 50 households currently in the trial, he added.
PUB continues to gather data from the trial, before deciding whether to extend the scheme to more households, he said.
