UAE | General

Power tariff hike to meet costs: Sewa

The decision to increase power tariff in Sharjah was made in order to cover the production cost increase, a senior Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) official said on Thursday.

  • By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:19 October 1, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News
  • A man cooks in candlelight because of a power cut in some Sharjah areas.

Sharjah: The decision to increase power tariff in Sharjah was made in order to cover the production cost increase, a senior Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) official said on Thursday.

As per the new charges that came into effect yesterday, the industrial sector will have to pay 40 fils per kilowatt hour (kWh), while commercial and residential sectors will pay 30 fils per kWh, instead of 20 fils.

When contacted by Gulf News, Sewa officials declined to comment.

However, Ebrahim Bin Deemas, acting director of Sewa, appeared for a 10-minute interview on Sharjah Radio to answer residents' queries as to why the rate hike was introduced and how it will affect them.

"The reason behind the hike was due to the increase of production cost because it has now risen substantially. On average, production in the industrial sector per year can cost up to 95 fils per kilowatt per hour," said Bin Deemas.

"The cost per kilowatt in the industrial sector is now 65 fils, but they are only required to pay 40 fils because the Government of Sharjah will pay the difference."

Bin Deemas stressed that power in Sharjah has always been subsidised by the government and will continue to be supported by them.

During the radio interview, he pointed out that production cost of one kilowatt per hour in the residential and commercial sector is currently 65 fils. Residents will pay 30 fils per kWh and the government subsidises the remaining 35 fils.

"The private homes of UAE nationals will not be affected and they will continue to pay the same tariff, which is at 7.5 fils per kilowatt hour," said Bin Deemas.

Sharjah residents now face a 50 per cent increase on their power bills as a result of the decision taken by the Board Council at Sewa to raise the tariff.

"It was decided to introduce the new tariff now because the winter season is approaching and the electricity consumption will not be as high as it was in the summer. We will be conducting a regular review on the new tariffs, and based on the production cost, Sewa will then decide whether to raise or reduce it." Sewa urges the residents to rationalise power consumption.

What do you think of the new charges? Are they are justified? How will this affect your monthly budget?

Your comments


The raise is not having any justification. We residents in Sharjah are already burdened by traffic conjuction, parking fee, rent.
Chacko Xavier
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:37

Simply, they want to recover their losses that took place because of their operational failure. SEWA is adding more burdens to residents who kept suffering for a month with no power.
Wael Samy Seleem
Sharja,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:35

The tariff increased is too much for the residence, that too all over the world in this recession peoples are already suffering a lot to run their normal life and running behind with credits. This kind of increase is indirectly forcing us to send our families to go back home. So, the authority has to consider mercifully and do some good favour for the consumers.
V.S. Saravanakumar
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:32

This is very unfair. Why SEWA is charging us service charges? What services do they provide?? SEWA please review your decision. Please do not put more burden to the common man.
Mohammad Ameen
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 12:23

Living cost is already high now, if electricity tariff is increased it will effect only the residents pocket. The governament should think of it. This is not fair.
Afnan
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:47

Being an employee in a contracting field, this 50% hike in Sewa monthly bill will definitely make a negative impact especially at this time of economic crisis.
Shamu Krishnan
Sharjah,UAe
Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:26

Residents of Sharjah will face 50 per cent increase of power bills. The authorities should decrease the building rents by 10 per set so that residents balance their budget.
Nadeem Abbas
ajman,U.A.E
Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:15

As a customer I don't see any value addition by increasing the tariffs. As such the service charge of Dh70 being paid is useless, apart from that we are now being charge extra. Unfortunately we don't have a choice but to face all these burdens. When will these issues be resolved by SEWA properly? There is no proper response from SEWA when we were facing power outage issues, they only come back to the public when issues are resolved. Whom should we escalate to get better service?
Amal
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 10:09

At the moment SEWA needs to compensate clients for all the hardships that they have caused to the residents and industries. What an irony that SEWA have chosen to charge the customer for enduring all the troubles that they have caused.
Suresh
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 09:50

50% hike in electricity charges is ununderstandable, there are already many pains for the residents of Sharjah like traffic, etc.
Vickram Singh
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 09:13

why not increase the power tariffs if it can really help pay the increasing costs? Parallelly, Sewa should improve operational and financial efficiency to cut the production costs. Most importantly, make sure it has enough power to meet the rising demand. I am sure all who suffered through the blackout are willing to pay reasonable hikes in tariff, if it ensures uninteruppted power.
Hashim
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 08:23

SEWA is always good in giving surprises to the customers. If the purpose is to cover the cost it should be a proportionate increase for all the category. One fine morning they surprised the customers with an additional charge of Dh70 for each customer. This is a wrong time to impose any additional burden on people.
Tom Thomas
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 07:27

I must say it is not a good time to raise tariff. Sewa should reconsider or do the minimum increase.
Shahzad Faisal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 06:58

Why I have to pay for new charges while I am already paying monthly service charges plus the housing fees? Really so strange!!!
Tamir Karas
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 03:19

The hike in power tariff is quite unexpected and shocking. The hike indicates that there will be a 50 percent increase in the bill. It will definitely put a strain on the budget for many people. But due to the hike people will be now extra cautious and use power saving bulbs, fans instead of air conditioners and switch off bulbs when not in use. Though the hike has come at the wrong time, it will result in reduced use of power and thus eventually help in saving power which in turn will help save the environment.
Naina Nair
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 02, 2009, 00:29

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