Revised irrigation water pricing regulations formulated
water tariffs have been revamped! The President's orders have shifted the water tariff regulator duties from the Ministry of National Economy to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, as per our website's report, citing the agency's press service.
This shift puts the Ministry in charge of overseeing state control over water supply via canals, irrigation, and water flow regulation using hydropower structures, also known as regulated services. To make this happen, the Department of Tariff Policy has been established.
Currently, the Ministry has drafted and approved regulations for tariff setting, rules for natural monopolies, standard service contracts, technical connection conditions, service regulations, a list of regulated services, risk assessment criteria, and water usage rules. These regulatory legal acts have been registered with the justice authorities and are now in effect. With this, the Ministry dawns its new role as the water tariff regulator. The Ministry will regulate natural monopolies, monitor their activities, and provide them with state services, like tariff approval, inspections, and registering them in the State Register.
As of now, 32 natural monopolies find a spot in the State Register, with 29 of them responsible for canal water supply, and 3 for water flow regulation using hydropower structures.
Let's break it down. Natural monopolies typically have exclusive control over the supply of water and hydropower in a region, often due to the high costs associated with setting up parallel infrastructure. However, the specific entities involved in this case remain unclear as the data doesn't specify a particular country.
The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, in its new role as the water tariff regulator, will oversee environmental-science related aspects of water supply and hydropower structures, given their role in regulated services. To ensure sustainable development, the finance department may need to allocate resources for investments in the science and industry sectors, considering the ministry's increased responsibilities in water management.
