Hayles urges OUR to reject NWC’s 51 per cent rate hike request

Opposition Spokesperson on Water, Ian Hayles, is calling on the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to reject the National Water Commission’s (NWC) application for a 51 per cent tariff increase, arguing that the utility must first address longstanding management and operational shortcomings.

The call follows discussions before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is reviewing an Auditor General’s performance audit of the NWC. The audit raised concerns about the utility’s planning and project execution, finding that 17 priority projects valued at $394 billion lacked supporting master plans and that there was no documented framework for prioritising capital projects.

Full coverageNational Water Commission Seeks 51% Tariff Increase for Jamaica Customers8 reports

The report also noted that the NWC’s payables climbed from $10.6 billion in the 2016/17 financial year to $33.2 billion in 2025/26. In addition, capital budgets have been consistently under-spent since 2019/20, while non-revenue water and energy-efficiency targets were repeatedly missed. The audit further highlighted the failure to submit four years of audited financial statements to Parliament.