Chisinau Municipal Council approved on Thursday, January 25, the increase in price for tap water and sewerage for population from 2.62 lei to 3.67 lei per one cu m, marking a 40% increase. The new tariff will come into effect as of February 1. Director of “Apa-Canal Chisinau” Enterprise (ACC) Constantin Becciev said that the tariff for the entities remained the same, that is 14.9 lei. The price of 1 cu m of water, initially requested by Chisinau’s water supplier “Apa-Canal” (ACC), is of 6.5 lei for individuals, 16.26 lei for economic entities, state budget-funded institutions and businesspersons, and 8.64 lei for consumers of industrial water. After the debates of the CMC commissions, the increase in tariffs for economic entities and industrial water has been excluded and proposed an increase only in the tariffs for population. Interim mayor is to request the Government to increase the nominative compensations for the underprivileged consumers. At present, 11 categories of citizens, meaning about 42 thousand persons, are granted compensations for water and sewage bills. The current amount of the compensations is 5 lei for those benefiting from a 25% cut, and 9 lei for a 50% cut. CMC decided the local budget will cover the tariff for the pensioners that are not part of the 11 categories. According to City Hall data, about 6 mln lei would be needed annually in this regard. As Becciev says, the present tariff does not cover the enterprise’s expenses, and that is why CMC could soon examine the possibility to pay certain compensations for the enterprise’s expenses from the local budget.