After a number of concerns from residents, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) have come up with a solution to unusually high bills. Dewa will now send you an automatic alert if your consumption seems too high. This will help to unearth any leaks or faults within your property - one of the main causes of unexpectedly high bills.
An alert will be sent via email and mobile, or through the Dewa app, if the resident’s smart meter records high consumption for 48 hours - based on the resident’s typical consumption levels. If the leak is not fixed, alerts will be sent every fifteen days for up to three months.
In May of 2014, a resident was issued a Dhs 22,000 bill due to leakage caused by a broken pipe in his underground water tank. The average family can lose up to 180 gallons of water per week, or 9,400 gallons annually, due to household leaks - the equivalent to the amount of water needed to wash over 300 loads of laundry.
In a statement introducing the smart meters, Dr Yousef Ebrahim Al Akraf, Executive Vice-President – Business Support & Human Resources said: “We will be sending customers’ statistics of energy consumption by their neighbours. This will inform them of energy consumption and if their use is high encourage them to rationalise consumption to reduce their monthly bills.”
Customers can also contest a high bill through the Dewa website, where you will also be issued a graph of your consumption.