At the 2017 Singapore Budget, it was announced that water prices were to increase for the first time in 17 years by up to 30 percent. Although the government made a clear attempt to reassure the media that “the increase is estimated to be less than $25 per month for three-quarters of businesses”, it is clear that a price hike would have a big impact for industries that are extremely water-intensive
For Singapore, two industries that would most likely be affected the most is our wafer manufacturing and petrochemical industries. For example, Systems on Silicon Manufacturing Co. Pte. Ltd. (SSMC)’s manufacturing processes require a daily water usage equivalent to 6,500 4-room flats, and up to 130,000 cubic metres of consistently good quality water per month. Given that Singapore is currently the choice location for the world’s top wafer foundries and a key manufacturing location for electronics, it is important to know that the water price hike would have a direct impact on the costs of these businesses; and in turn severely affect Singapore’s global competitiveness in these industries.
The impact of the water price hike on non-domestic users (businesses)
Potable Water Prices
The key revisions to the water prices are:
- A 30% increase in water price, phased over 2 years, starting from 1 Jul 2017.
- Restructuring of the Sanitary Appliance Fee and the Waterborne Fee into a single, volume-based fee.
NEW Water Prices
Key revisions to the NEWater prices are:
- From July 2017, there will be an increase in NEWater tariff and a 10% Water Conservation Tax imposed on NEWater.
- The increase in Waterborne Fee will be phased over two years, in July 2017 and in July 2018.
Industrial Water Prices
Key revisions to the Industrial Water prices are:
- The Industrial Water Tariff will be raised in one step from July 2017.
- The Waterborne Fee increase will be phased over two years, in July 2017 and in July 2018.
Potable Water Prices for Shipping Customers
