A report in Diário de Notícias tells how “at least 1.3 million people” face water bill price hikes – and the reality may actually affect up to eight million.
The plan has already caused a furore among local authorities, who claim it is “unconstitutional”. Moves are now afoot to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
At issue are “big changes” in the very near future involving the restructuring of Águas de Portugal, alteration in the statutes of public institute ERSAR, and the privatisation of Águas de Portugal Group’s sub-holding company EGF, say Diário de Notícias.
One of the least popular but hotly defended suggestions is for the cost of a cubic metre of water to run to anything between €2 and €3. If this happens, the number of households affected by price hikes will run to as many as eight million, says the newspaper.
The reasons are simple economics: the government is trying to recover from the low water prices in the interior areas of the country by charging coastal areas – where approximately 80% of the population resides – a whole lot more.
The head of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities has been quoted saying that the proposed measures are “unconstitutional”, and that the municipalities are getting ready to present the case to the Constitutional Court.
