Introduction

A tariff structure is a set of procedural rules used to determine the conditions of service and the monthly bills for its users in various categories or classes. A service bill may refer to 2 distinct components: the service consumption and other factors. Most local communities in emerging countries are living under severe poverty situations. Therefore, the affordability levels of different user types should be considered during the tariff determination process (McDonald, 2002). Taking the situation of households into account, this study recommends a tariff setting structure that might assist municipalities in reducing the high debt problem. In assisting in cost recovery, the households are divided into differ-ent categories according to their income: Within these categories, each household pays a certain amount on a flat rate as a basic charge, and an additional usage charge, based on the number of services consumed. Download the full article