Dubai utility will introduce a new tariff structure from March to cut power and water overuse.
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is to introduce a new tariff system from March, under which big consumers will have to pay more. The move is intended to cut wastage of power and water.
DEWA said that 80% of all bill payers would be unaffected by the new sliding scale price structure, since they consume reasonable amounts. It added that UAE nationals were excluded at this stage.
“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 to disseminate the culture of conserving electricity and water,” said DEWA CEO Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer.
The utility has taken out newspaper advertisements calling on residents to save power and water.
“We firmly believe that there is an escalating necessity to implement responsible energy consumption strategies,” Al Tayer added.
“The new tariff system will encourage people to keep a closer eye on their electricity and water consumption. It will also pave the way towards a more responsible utilisation of natural resources,” the CEO continued.
DEWA said Dubai’s average per capita consumption of 20,000 kWh of electricity each year and 130 gallons of water per day puts it among the cities with the highest power and water consumption rates in the world, exceeding many cities in well developed countries such as the USA, Japan, UK, Germany and Singapore.
Back in December, the state-owned utility denied that it was considering raising prices in the near future, despite releasing a document to investors that stated it was seeking approval from the government to increase charges for electricity and water.
