Quality of service
ERSAR regulates the quality of water and waste
services provided to customers, evaluating the operators' performance and comparing
them with each other, through the application of
a benchmarking system to foster effectiveness
and efficiency.
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This assessment follows a set of indicators related to drinking water supply, urban wastewater management and urban waste management services, which allow ERSAR to regulate by benchmarking.
The indicators are divided in three groups:
- Protection of users' interests: ERSAR intends to assess how users' interests are protected, in particular, the degree of access and the quality of the provided service;
- Operator's sustainability: ERSAR intends to assess the degree of technical and economical sustainability of operators and their legitimate interests, concerning economic and financial, infrastructural, operational and human resources;
- Environmental sustainability: set of indicators used to assess the protection level of environmental issues related with operators' activities.
Annually, ERSAR evaluates the quality of service provided to users and the control of drinking water quality by the regulated entities/ operators. Since 2004, this information is provided to the sector and to the general public through the Annual Report on Water and Waste Services in Portugal (RASARP), a publication that comprises two volumes - the first regarding the overall sector and the quality of services and the second regarding drinking water quality.
Additionally, ERSAR promotes the "Awards and Badges" initiative together with a representative jury of the sector. This annual initiative includes a formal event and aims to distinguish and reward the entities that obtained the best performance in different categories, according to a set of predefined rules.