Spelling out some of his office’s achievements during the past year, Mr Lajci referred in particular to the Annual Report published by his office in June which set out how water and solid waste companies had performed in 2006.

    This report shows how each company has performed, against a range of key performance indicators. These indicators include:

• Drinking water quality
• How many hours per day, on average, customers receive a water supply
• How much water is lost through leaks and bursts
• How much it costs to produce a measured quantity of water
• How many complaints are received from customers
• Collection rates from customers
  

    Publishing such information means customers can see how well or badly their supplier has performed during the year and how their service provider compares with other similar companies. In future years they will be able to see whether their supplier has got better or got worse.

    “This year’s Report showed a very modest improvements in services overall. But we have a long way to go in achieving a sustainable water industry”, said Mr Lajci.

    The regulator has also made considerable progress in developing a tariff setting process for the industry. His proposed approach requires the companies to produce forward looking business plans with a focus on capital investment, capital maintenance, system refurbishment and upgrading and to deliver reductions in their operating costs through increased efficiency. Last week a consultative workshop was held with all the water companies to discuss WWRO’s proposals.


Notes to Editors

    1. WWRO is an independent economic regulator responsible for overseeing the activities of water and waste service providers. It was set up under UNMIK Regulation No. 2004/49.

    Its primary purpose is to protect the interests of customers. It ensures that the regulated service providers do not abuse their monopoly positions and that they provide a reasonable standard of service at a fair price.

    2. WWRO’s principle responsibilities are:

• Issuing operating licenses to the public water and waste service providers.
• Setting tariffs for water and wastewater services that will allow the companies to finance their operations and improve services but are fair to customers.
• Monitoring and reporting service provider performance
• Establishing and supporting regional Customer Consultative Committees
• Ensuring that services meet acceptable standards