The Consumer Protection Association highlighted that the new regulation will give consumers "more power" from 19 October, by imposing minimum quality standards on suppliers.

"This will be an important step towards guaranteeing the quality of services" and the protection of consumer rights, considered Deco, in a statement, highlighting that from 19 April complaints may result in compensation on the bill, under the new regulation of the water, sanitation and waste service.

The new rules cover common situations such as the installation or replacement of meters, reconnection, flooding, water cuts, insufficient pressure or waste collection. The amounts to which consumers may be entitled vary “according to the severity of the situation” and depend on a written complaint. This must be submitted within 30 days of the incident.

“Fortuitous cases or cases of force majeure, those that are the consumer’s responsibility or those resulting from measures beyond the management entity’s control, such as the drought affecting some regions of the country, are excluded,” explained Deco. If the wait for a meter to be installed exceeds five working days, the consumer is entitled to compensation of 15 euros on their bill, the association gave as an example.

In the case of flooding originating in the public sewage network, compensation is 10 euros if the management entity does not appear within four hours.