UAE | General

Dubai introduces new rates to curb use of electricity and water

Authority's price structure targets big commercial and residential consumers to make them pay higher rates beyond a consumption limit.

  • By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 16:59 February 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
  • Water and electricity prices in Dubai have been revised to encourage big consumers to use less by paying more.

Dubai: The more you use the more you pay. This is the new price restructure introduced by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to bring down over consumption of electricity and water in the emirate.

Water and electricity prices in Dubai have been revised to encourage big consumers to use less by paying more.

Currently residents pay 3 fils per gallon and will continue to do so as long they do not use more than 6,000 gallons, the price will then go up to 3.5 fils per gallon, and even 4 fils per gallon for consumers who sap more than 12,001 gallons from the tap.

Electricity fees will range from 20 fils to 33 fils per kilowatt hour depending if usage exceeds 2,000 or 10,001 kilowatt hours for residents and industries respectively.

Emiratis are exempt from the new rates.

The average individual consumption in Dubai rates it ahead of some developed countries like the US, Japan, UK, Germany and Singapore.

Golf courses in the UAE can use up to a million gallons of water every day to keep the greens green whilst personal individual consumption is pegged at 130 gallons of water a day.

The new price scale will only affect 20 per cent of consumers according to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) who will put into effect a slab tariff system for electricity and water consumption beginning this March 2008.

"The community has to be more reasonable in the way resources are used. For this purpose, DEWA is launching a new series of emirate-wide awareness and educational programmes for Dubai public to disseminate the culture of conserving electricity and water," said Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of DEWA.

Have your say
Will DEWA's new price restructure make you conserve water and electricity?

Your comments


Conservation is a right of every individual, so why are foreigners discriminated against, does that mean Emiratis can use more utility services and pay less than others?
Irfan
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 17:21

There's no problem with increasing everything in Dubai, but salaries should also be upgraded for expats, especially for those middle income earners. There should be balance to live a decent life in Dubai.
Aloe
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 15:43

This is a good move, we have the same slab system in place in Chennai, India, which applies to all consumers. This slab system needs to apply to all including Emiratis, to make this new initiative a success.
Hussain
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 15:01

It is sad to see that the very same foreigners who have been part and parcel of the country's upbringing have been discriminated against on levels of DEWA bills. I feel everyone who is part of the UAE economy should be meted out with the same practises irrespective of they race, creed, culture etc.
Prakash
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 15:00

This is a very good Idea, at least MIG people will think twice before crossing the limit.
M.K.O.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 14:32

Prices for anything and everything are going up and now the DEWA people have also done their job perfectly. I don't think anybody will waste electricity and water purposely. In short, "one more extra burden to the residents".
Sreeja
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 14:03

It's a good move by DEWA. It's the right way to check on the undue water/electricity consumptions. But I simply fail to understand why this doesn't apply to Emiratis? Why is it only expats who have to bear this out?
Rajeev
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 13:47

Why are Emiratis exempt from this rule? Why don't we treat people equally?
Asim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 13:40

The flaw with this new structure is that there are no perks for those who use less. The lowest slab is the existing rate of 20 fils for electricity and 3 fils for water. If encouragement for conservation was the real objective, they would have offered reduced rates for those who consume below the limit.
Fajer
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 13:16

This is a good move by DEWA. This will make people use resources more sensibly.
Rajesh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 13:06

This is a great move towards conservation - however this should be also applied to Emiratis as conservation is everyone's responsibility.
Clive
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 13:01

I think this is very good, but nobody should be exempted from this rule since "the community has to be more reasonable in the way resources are used." Emiratis are definitely part of the community.
SG
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 12:38

I believe the measure is very effective to conserve energy as well as reduce carbon print.
Abdulla
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 18, 2008, 11:49

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