Less than a month after Prime Minister Hun Sen launched an initiative to reduce the cost of electricity for the country’s migrant workforce, the government is now setting in motion a plan to cut the cost of water for workers and students living in Phnom Penh. Sim Sitha, director-general of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), said a meeting to set new rates for water would be held Thursday.
“Tomorrow we have a board of directors meeting in order to discuss the reduction of water prices,” Mr. Sitha said, adding that the price cut would target workers and students living in rented rooms in the city.
“We are doing it to help their living condition,” he said.
Last week, in an effort to prevent landlords from overcharging tenants on their electricity bills, the state-run Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) began to install meters in rooms so renters can pay their electricity bill directly to EdC, at a rate between 610 and 820 riel (about $0.15 to $0.20) per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
EdC director-general Keo Ratanak said last week that landlords had been charging up to 2,500 riel (about $0.62) per kWh.
