Bucharest water company changes tariff structure for water, sewage

Local company Apa Nova, which provides sewerage and water supply in Bucharest, announced yesterday that it would change the tariff structure in the next period. The sewage costs will increase by over 90% whereas the water supply costs will go down, reports local Mediafax. The changes, which were made due to requirements of international experts, will reflect the necessary investments in sewage infrastructure and operating costs. However, the net tariff will not effectively change, said Epsica Chiru, Apa Nova spokesperson. The increase in the sewage costs will be offset by the decrease in the water supply costs. The water supply has a share of 82% in the overall net tariff whereas the sewerage has a share of 18%, according to a contract that entered into force in 2000. In the new structure, water supply will account for 65.5% of the overall cost and sewage will represent 34.5%. The price without VAT will remain unchanged, namely RON 5.05 per cubic meter of water, but the final price will slightly increase due to different VAT structure. Apa Nova also announced that the company’s name will change to APA Nova – Compania de Ape Bucuresti. Apa Nova is controlled by French group Veolia. The company has been at the heart of a corruption scandal in 2015. The company and two of its former French executives were indicted by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in that case. editor@romania-insider.com