2023-12-14 20:04:10
The water bill varies up to 435% depending on the city in which you reside, according to a study carried out by Facua-Consumidores en Acción on the rates for the year 2023 of the home water supply in 57 Spanish cities in which Ceuta and Murcia They repeat for another year as the municipalities with the most expensive rates. The study, completed in December, covers all provincial and autonomous community capitals (Santiago de Compostela and Mérida), in addition to the two autonomous cities and cities that have a larger population than their respective provincial capitals (Gijón, Jerez de la Frontera and Vigo).
Thus, the study shows that Murcia repeats as the peninsular city with the most expensive rates for the two consumption profiles analyzed (9 and 13 cubic meters per month) and the two meter calibers (13 and 15 millimeters). In the case of 13 millimeter meters, Ceuta occupies the first position for a consumption of 9 cubic meters (m3), followed by Murcia, Cádiz, Alicante and Barcelona. In the case of 13 cubic meters of consumption, the cities are Murcia, Ceuta, Alicante, Cádiz and Barcelona. As can be seen, these are the same cities but their positions vary due to slight price changes.
When the meter is 15 millimeters, Ceuta, Murcia, Valencia, Cádiz and Alicante are the five most expensive cities for 9 cubic meters of consumption (although according to the rates approved in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, this city is in third place, which It is true that there is no home there with that type of meter). In the case of a consumption of 13 cubic meters, the ranking is established in Ceuta, Murcia, Alicante, Cádiz and Huelva.
The rate variations represent up to a 361.2% difference per year in the case of homes with a 13-millimeter meter if their consumption is 9 cubic meters per month, and 292.3% if the consumption is 13 cubic meters. In the first case, the bills range from 6.24 euros per month paid in León to 28.79 euros per month in Ceuta. If the gauge of the meter is 15 millimeters, the difference is 434.8% for a consumption of 9 cubic meters; and if consumption is 13 cubic meters, 340.9%. The monthly bills range from 6.24 euros, which are also paid in León, to 33.38 euros in Ceuta.
Homes with a consumption of 9 m3, with a 13 mm gauge meter, paid an average of 14.83 euros in 2023, compared to the 15.15 euros paid by those homes that have a 15 millimeter meter installed. In those families with a consumption of 13 m3 and a 13 millimeter meter, the average amount reaches 20.43 euros, compared to the 20.75 euros paid by households that consume 13 m3 of water with a 15 millimeter meter. . On average, rates have fallen between 0.1% and 0.3%, mainly motivated by the temporary exemption from payment of the regional fee that the Junta de Andalucía has maintained throughout 2023, in addition to the occasional small decrease. concept or fees of certain municipalities.
The study takes two models as reference: a home with three inhabitants and a monthly consumption of 9 or 13 cubic meters, with a 13 or 15 millimeter gauge meter. One of the main conclusions is that only nine cities distinguish in their rates the caliber of the meter in these two modalities, the two most common in Spanish homes: Albacete, Castellón, Girona, Guadalajara, Huelva, Huesca, Madrid, Valencia and Santa Cross of Tenerife. The latter, which would be the third most expensive city for the consumption of 9 cubic meters with a 15 millimeter meter, does not have any meter of this caliber installed in the city.
The association questions the existence of this price differentiation based on the caliber of the meter, given that there are no technical reasons to do so and points out that this is reflected in the specifications of the meter manufacturers themselves, as well as the technical documents of some operators such as Canal de Isabel II and two resolutions issued by the Department of Industry of the Junta de Andalucía.
For a consumption of 9 m3, Ceuta is the city with the most expensive water of the 57 analyzed in the case of 13 millimeter meters: 28.79 euros, followed by Murcia (26.27 euros), Cádiz (22.05 euros), Alicante (21.52 euros) and Barcelona (21.47 euros). If consumption is 13 m3, the positions are as follows: Murcia (34.40 euros), Ceuta (34.07 euros), Alicante (31.91 euros), Cádiz (31.08 euros) and Barcelona (29. 86 euros). If the gauge of the meter is 15 millimeters, Ceuta is the most expensive city, also for both consumptions: 33.38 euros in the case of 9 m3 and 38.66 euros in the case of 13 m3. Murcia drops to second position, with 26.27 and 34.40 euros, respectively.
Starting from the third most expensive city, the cities differ depending on monthly consumption. For 9 m3, they are followed by Valencia (23.18 euros), Cádiz (22.05 euros) and Alicante (21.52 euros) -if you ignore Tenerife, where there are no 15 millimeter meters-. If consumption is 13 cubic meters, in third place is Alicante (31.91 euros), Cádiz (31.08 euros) in fourth and Huelva (30.08 euros) in fifth position.
At the other extreme, the cheapest rate is found in León, with a price of 6.24 euros for a water consumption of 9 cubic m3 per month, regardless of whether the caliber is 13 or 15 millimeters. It is also the cheapest city for a monthly consumption of 13 m3 regardless of the gauge of the meter, with a rate of 8.77 euros.
For a consumption of 9 m3, regardless of the meter caliber, Palencia (71.4 euros), Soria (7.73 euros), Ourense (8.23 euros) and Salamanca (8.53 euros) follow. They all repeat as the cheapest in this modality.
If consumption is 13 cubic meters, Palencia continues to be the second cheapest city, regardless of meter size (9.05 euros). If the caliber is 13 millimeters, the city of Salamanca (10.51 euros) stands out, followed by Soria (11.16 euros) and Guadalajara (11.79 euros) and if it is 15 millimeters, Soria (11.16 euros), Lugo (12.03 euros) and Ourense (12.12 euros).
A total of 18 of the 57 cities analyzed have modified their rates in 2023. The largest increase has occurred in Badajoz, 18.0 and 13.2% depending on consumption (9 or 13 m3 per month). On the contrary, half have experienced some decrease, although for the most part due to the reduction, exemption or elimination of water taxes, and not due to a decrease in their own prices.
On the other hand, a total of 24 of the 57 cities analyzed in the Facua study include, in their rates, different fees that can be local, provincial or regional. Those that do not apply any are Albacete, Ávila, Barcelona, Bilbao, Burgos, Ceuta, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Girona, Guadalajara, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, León, Lleida, Logroño, Madrid, Melilla, Palencia, Pamplona, Salamanca, San Sebastián, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Segovia, Soria, Tarragona, Toledo, Valladolid, Vitoria and Zamora.
Given these data, Facua calls on city councils to adopt a progressive pricing system that better reflects household consumption by number of inhabitants, in such a way that excessive consumption is penalized in a more realistic and fair way. Likewise, the association sees it as essential to have a regulation that guarantees against the cut-off or suspension of the service, that defines and regulates the situation of vulnerable people with special protection and that ensures a vital minimum as a right of users.
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