Papeete introduces tiered water billing to favor small consumers

Papeete is implementing a new tiered water billing system for its 27,000 residents. The new structure is designed to favor small consumers, with some households potentially seeing reductions in their bills of up to 30%.

Mayor Remy Brillant stated that the change aims to make billing more equitable while encouraging water conservation. While the majority of the 9,000 subscribers will benefit from lower costs, larger users will see a slight increase in their rates to balance the system. The new model features seven monthly tiers based on cubic meters consumed, with the first cubic meter priced at 1 Fcfp.

Mathieu Desêstres, Director General of Polynésienne des eaux, noted that significant infrastructure improvements over the last 30 years have improved water delivery efficiency, reducing the volume of water extracted from 18 million cubic meters to 6 million cubic meters.