Dubai residents sweat over spike in utility bills

Residents in Dubai are complaining about their utility bills shooting up despite the recent announcement by Dewa (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) that there would be no increase in the usage cost of water and electricity consumption and that the fixed prices would remain unchanged.

According to an Emirates 24|7 poll, a majority (93 per cent) of respondents have seen their water and electricity bills go up despite the same kind of consumption.

“In summer I was paying around Dh1,200 to Dh1,300 per month in Dewa bills for my villa in The Springs. Just a few months down the line it has gone up to Dh1,853 despite less use of the air conditioning,” lamented one respondent.

On the other hand, 4 per cent of the participants said they did not see any noticeable change in their bills, whereas, 3 per cent don’t keep a track on their monthly utility charges.
This is in sharp contrast to the announcement made by Dewa when it ruled out any increase in Dewa tariffs just last month.

A new tariff structure or slab system was first introduced on March 1, 2008 by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) aimed at encouraging consumers to conserve energy.
 

Effective January 1, 2011, Dewa once again increased its tariff due to the escalating gas and oil prices.

On January 1, 2011, Dewa increased electricity charges from 20 fils per kilowatt (KWh) to 23 fils for monthly consumption below 2,000 KWh and from 33 fils to 38 fils per KWh for consumption of more than 6,000 KWh per month.

Average individual electricity usage is said by Dewa to be 20,000 KWh hours per annum and 130 gallons of water daily, putting Dubai among the cities with the highest consumption per person in the world, with one of the highest carbon footprints per capita.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.