No UAE utilities bill if consumption 30% higher than last year: Authority

UAE -  The Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) has disputed a social media user's video claiming that he had been incorrectly overcharged for his utilities.

Fewa said that the person's bill for September was close to that of previous months and those of previous years.

It said his bill for September was Dh2,890, while the previous month's bill was Dh2,605. This, Fewa said, is a normal rate and an increase of only 10 per cent.

The authority claimed that the customer had an internal leak and that he had been contacted about this.

It added that the authority's financial system is designed so that it does not issue any bill if the actual consumption exceeds 30 per cent compared to the same period last year. Fewa sends a team to take a picture of the meter to verify the monthly reading before approving it and issuing the bill. Fewa said that most residential villas' meters readings are taken remotely.

Fewa stated that any customer has the right to submit a request to inspect a meter through most of the authority's communication channels, and the meter will be replaced in the event that a malfunction is confirmed without additional fees. Any costs for high consumption during that malfunction will also be deducted.

Fewa has previously clarified that the Covid 19 pandemic resulted in some impact on the consumption of residential apartments, with an increase of 15-23 per cent compared to the same period last year.

It stressed that it is exercising its role in limiting the spread of the pandemic by adopting a policy based on providing 100 per cent electronic services, which does not result in the need for the customer to visit the Customer Happiness Centers.

It has a pre-reservation system through various communication channels in order to visit Customer Happiness Centers, with the exception of the following categories: senior citizens, people of determination, humanitarian cases, and cases of severed service.