Pathmanathan: Users missing rebate in their bills can contact PBAPP.
THE RM11mil water bill rebate for domestic consumers will show up in bills issued by Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) starting this month to December.
PBAPP said the rebates would benefit 597,705 Penang domestic water consumer account holders, with each saving RM18.60.
“Depending on the billing date, domestic consumers will see the rebate in bills issued in the September/October (RM12.40) and November/December (RM6.20) billing cycles,” said PBAPP chief executive officer Datuk K. Pathmanathan in a statement.
“The rebate is for domestic consumers only,” he said.
“It is not applicable to non-domestic consumers, domestic bulk consumers, shipping consumers, houses of worship or welfare institutions.”
It was earlier reported that all domestic water consumer account holders in Penang would not be charged for the first 10,000 litres of consumption in their bi-monthly water bills over the six month period from July to December 2024.
Pathmanathan said this was in compliance with a directive issued by the state government in June, following the implementation of the new 2024 domestic water rates in Penang as regulated by the Federal Government.
He added that households with eight people or more, with a maximum household income of RM5,580 per month, were also eligible for a RM20 rebate.
He said domestic consumers who did not have the rebate in their coming bills should contact the PBAPP 24-hour call centre at 04-255 8255.
They can also visit any of the customer care centres at Komtar, Balik Pulau, Bayan Baru, Bukit Mertajam, Jawi, Kepala Batas, Perai Complex, Rifle Range or Taman Selat.
Pathmanathan said PBAPP was also making adjustments to limit its bi-monthly billing timespan to a maximum of 63 days from October onwards to accommodate public holidays and off-days that might occur at month-ends.
“An investigation has confirmed that some domestic water consumers had been billed for consumption in a timespan of up to 67 days, in some cases since March this year,” said Pathmanathan.
“This billing delay was due to the number of public holidays over the past six months and an increasing meter reading workload.
“In June, PBAPP was serving a customer base of 696,910 water consumer accounts throughout Penang.
“With immediate effect, PBAPP has increased overtime claim allocations for meter readers to ensure that the water bills are issued on time.
“We will employ more people in the next six months.”
