The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) will be required to adhere to new standards over the next three years, including acknowledging customer complaints within a shorter period.
Acknowledging that the BWA is the sole entity responsible for supplying potable water in Barbados, the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) said in its new Standards of Service document for the Authority that it had a responsibility “to ensure that there is operational accountability and that customers are afforded acceptable standards”.
It noted that in the absence of competition, the company had little market-driven incentive to continually provide an acceptable quality of service.
“Consequently, in the absence of competition, the Commission must continue to perform the role of proxy. Given that the ramifications for deficient standards in water or wastewater can be significant and have immediate negative economic, health and environmental consequences,” said the consumer protection and utilities regulatory agency.
“The Commission must therefore ensure that the water quality in the distribution system is consistently at an acceptable level . . . . The Standards of Service regime should motivate the utility to provide a higher quality of service that redounds to the benefit of the customer.”
Under the new standards of service, which will take effect from 2023 to 2025, the FTC said the time to acknowledge complaints under Guaranteed Standard Response to Complaints has been adjusted from seven calendar days to five working days.
Investigation of complaints and findings should be provided within 15 working days of the receipt of the complaint, inclusive of the acknowledgement time.
Customers whose service has been disconnected in error, are to have reconnection within 10 hours after notification of the error.
The BWA has up to 24 hours to restore supply to a customer after settlement of overdue amounts and reconnection fees.
The utility company will also be required to institute a standard complaints procedure, inclusive of an official complaint form to be reviewed and approved by the Commission.
The FTC also requires the BWA to take several other steps, including putting a Standards of Service Table prominently on its website and making it available to customers by post or electronically within two months of its implementation. A link to the Table of Guaranteed Standards must also be on customers’ utility bills and the BWA is required to inform customers who make complaints of the means by which compensation may be sought.
As part of the overall standards of service, which was issued earlier this month, the BWA must conduct a wide screen analysis biannually, a quarterly metals and pesticides test, and a monthly primary pollutants test.
The FTC added that the percentage of compliance rate for overall standard repair of ruptured pipes must be 90 per cent repaired in five working days.
Meanwhile, there is a new overall standard that measures the accuracy of bills issued by the BWA. The billing accuracy minimum requirement is 90 per cent.
Upon request, the BWA is required to install a meter within 30 days of the receipt of such request.
“A new section has been added to Meter Installation or Meter Repositioning with a target time of 15 working days to reposition a meter on request,” the FTC said.
“A new Guaranteed Standard has been added – Application for Reconnection of a service that was disconnected from the main. There is a target time of seven working days for residential customers and five working days for commercial customers to effect the reconnection,” it added.
The time it takes to assess and determine the operational status of a meter and report the findings to the customer should be 10 working days maximum, while replacing or repairing faulty meters must be done within 20 working days.
The time between application, payment for service and installation is 10 working days for residential customers and eight working days for commercial customers.
There are specific exemptions for the various standards of service.
In the event of non-compliance to the standards, the BWA could be liable to compensate affected customers or pay a penalty imposed by the regulator, pursuant to Section 21 and Section 38 of the Utilities Regulation Act, respectively.
“Failure or refusal to obey an order made by the Commission may result in further fines, as Section 31(1) of the Utilities Regulation Act,” the FTC added. (MM)
