Algar, which processes the Algarve’s urban waste, had proposed a rise in the tariff to be applied across municipalities in 2019, but the Water and Waste Services Regulatory Authority decided otherwise.
According to newspaper Correio da Manhã (CM), the value will have to be lowered by more than 15 percent, from €34.72/ ton to €29.37.
The decision spurred a meeting between Algar with local mayors, during which the company reportedly expressed concern about the financial impact of the measure.
Nonetheless, Jorge Botelho, president of the Algarve Intermunicipal Community, told CM that Algar was committed to “maintaining quality of service”.
Nuno Amorim, manager of Algar, acknowledged that the company predicts “negative results” due to the tariff reduction, but stressed that “public service will be upheld”.
Although the councils will be paying Algar less, nothing suggests that this will translate into a reduction of the value charged to consumers, which is included on water bills. It is the individual responsibility of each municipality or municipal company to define the tariffs it applies to the population.
Company Algar is 56 percent owned by private companies (Mota-Engil and Urbaser), with the remaining 44 percent owned by the Algarve’s councils.
In 2017, turnover was 18 million euros and the net result was 717 thousand euros. Algar employs about 300 employees.