| Amendments to the Public Utilities Act 2001 | 371 | https://www.pub.gov.sg/news/pressreleases/2022PR35 | Amendments to the Public Utilities Act 2001 | 2/8/2023 4:00:00 PM | | | Issue Date | Overview | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | <div><center>
<b><span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">Amendments to the Public Utilities Act 2001</span></b></center></div><br>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">Singapore’s National Water Agency, PUB is proposing amendments to the Public Utilities Act 2001 to allow PUB to effectively manage water demand and ensure water supply resilience to meet the long-term needs of our population and economy.</span><br><br></div><div><div style="width:3%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">2.</span></div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">The amendments are in three key areas:<br>a) Introduce mandatory water efficiency requirements for industrial large water users to ensure sustainable growth in water demand.<br>b) Introduce charges to large private water suppliers to ensure sustainable growth of Singapore’s private water supply and overall water resilience.<br>c) Technical amendments to enhance PUB's operations</span><br><br><br></div><div>
<b><u>Raising water efficiency in the non-domestic sector</u></b><br><br></div><div style="width:3%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">3.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">Singapore’s current water demand is about 440 million gallons per day, which is expected to almost double by 2065, in tandem with economic and population growth. The non-domestic sector will be the major source of water demand growth, and projected to increase from the current half, to about two-thirds of total water demand.</span><br><br></div><div style="width:3%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">4.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">PUB will introduce water recycling requirements for the wafer fabrication (WF), electronics and biomedical industries from 1 January 2024. These industries are water-intensive, accounting for almost one-fifth of the total non-domestic water demand, and also have high potential for water recycling. Recycling requirements will apply to new projects (including expansion of existing plants), that consume at least 60,000m<sup>3</sup> of water annually (Annex A).</span><br><br><br></div><div>
<b><u>Introducing charges to large private water suppliers (PWS)</u></b><br><br></div><br></div><div style="width:3%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">5.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">In recent years, more entities have sought PUB’s approval to collect rainwater or to extract and treat seawater on a large scale. These are private water suppliers (PWS) comprising rainwater harvesters and private desalination plants that have received approval to construct works for the abstraction of water for their own use or for sale.</span><br><br></div>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">6.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">Growing expansion in the number and scale of PWS will have an impact on Singapore’s water system and our overall water resilience as PUB will need to develop and maintain sufficient reserve capacity in case of any disruptions or cessation of supply faced by PWS. PUB must also develop and maintain sufficient capacity to treat used water from PWS and/or their customers.</span><br><br></div>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">7.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">To ensure the sustainable growth of private supply of water and hence our water supply resilience, PUB will introduce the Waterborne Tax (WBT) and Water Conservation Tax (WCT)<sup>1</sup> on large PWS. This will align the treatment of privately supplied water with the existing charging principles for PUB-supplied water. With these changes, the same principles of water conservation and contribution to national used water system will be applied consistently on almost all water users:</span><br><br>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">a)</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">WBT will be imposed on the volume of water supplied by private desalination plants and large rainwater harvesters for their own use or for sale.<sup>2</sup></span><br></div>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">b)</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">WCT will only be imposed on the volume of water supplied for sale by private desalination plants.</span><br></div>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">c)</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">The charges will not be applied to small scale rainwater harvesters such as those in HDB estates, community clubs or schools</span><br><br></div><hr /><div>
<span style="line-height:10px;font-size:11px;"><sup>1</sup> WBT is a tax contribution to our national used water system paid by all users, regardless of whether the premises are connected to PUB's used water network. WCT is imposed to encourage water conservation and reflect the scarcity value of water.<br><sup>2</sup> Large rainwater harvesters are defined as those with tank sizes larger than 350m<sup>3.</sup></span><br><br></div></div>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">8.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">The charges will be introduced from early 2025 in two phases, starting with 50% of the prevailing WBT and WCT rates in 2025. The full prevailing rates will apply from 2026.This will provide transition time for PWS to adjust to the changes.</span><br><br></div><div><b><u>Technical amendments to enhance PUB’s operations</u></b></div><br>
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<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">9.</span> </div><div style="width:97%;float:left;">
<span style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">The Act will also be amended to provide PUB with the essential powers to enhance its operations so as to allow PUB to more effectively and efficiently fulfill its mission of safeguarding our water security and ensuring a safe and reliable supply of water for all.</span><br><br><br><br></div>
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<b>About PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency</b><br><br> PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE). It is the national water agency, which manages Singapore’s water supply, water catchment, and used water in an integrated way. From April 2020, PUB also took on the responsibility of protecting Singapore’s coastline from sea-level rise as the national coastal protection agency.<br><br> PUB has ensured a diversified and sustainable supply of water for Singapore with the Four National Taps (local catchment water, imported water, NEWater, desalinated water). PUB leads and coordinates whole-of-government efforts to protect Singapore from the threat of rising seas and the holistic management of inland and coastal flood risks.<br><br>PUB calls on everyone to play a part in conserving water, in keeping our waterways clean, and in caring for Singapore’s precious water resources. If we all do our little bit, there will be enough water for all our needs – for commerce and industry, for living, for life.<br><br></div><div style="line-height:30px;font-size:18px;">
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<img alt="Annex A" src="/PublishingImages/MediaFactSheet_AmendmentsPublicUtilitiesAct2001AnnexA.JPG" style="margin:20px;max-height:100%;max-width:100%;" /> </div> | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
