Author : Editor
In a step to help residents manage their electricity and water consumption, a new utility bill will be introduced in Abu Dhabi from March, announced Nicholas Carter, Director-General of the Regulation and Supervision Bureau (RSB) on Wednesday.
The new bill will have two consumption bands for residential customers, indicating an ideal-average consumption and above ideal-average consumption.
The consumption bands give customers an average range to benchmark their water and electricity use, depending on whether they live in an apartment or villa, Carte said.
A green tick symbol shows the ideal-average consumption and a red exclamation symbol indicates the above ideal-average consumption, Carter said. The new bill will be out in phases during March and April starting with residential and business customers. Additional services such as online viewing of the new bill, bill reprints and online statements for corporate accounts will be introduced in April. To address the issue of paper usage, an e-mail option will supplement the existing SMS “total to pay” alert.
According to the RSB, the nationals continue to receive free water, though the new bill will be sent to them as an information tool to help build awareness on consumption.
“With an upward trend in population and economic growth, the Government of Abu Dhabi is aware of the pressure on the country’s resources. Steps taken now will help ensure the continuous and secure supply of water and electricity in the future. As the tariff stays the same, the new bill is one way to address consumption and influence long-term behavioural change.” Mohammed bin Jarsh, Deputy Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Distribution Company, said: “Based on current use, we know that most of our customers will be in the red band during the summer months. By encouraging customers to use efficient appliances and to adjust their air conditioning, we can reduce the electricity use.”
To ensure customers are not taken by surprise, an information campaign will introduce the new bill before March, which highlights the key changes and addresses concerns and questions that many customers may wish to ask, Jarsh said.
The government subsidy represents a large part of the actual cost of producing and delivering water and electricity to the customer. “By showing the actual cost of the utility, customers will realise the government’s contribution to the sector,” said Carter.
Source : khaleejtimes.com
