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Dubai: Greens community residents are concerned that their district cooling systems are not as economical as promised.
"With our April Emicool bills, we received a notice requesting a 50 per cent increase in the security deposit, due to the increase in the tariff.
"This tariff has gone up from 33 fils a unit to 48 fils," one resident said.
A customer service administrator from Emicool, who wished to stay anonymous, said, "Our bills went up from 33 fils to 48 fils because Dewa [Dubai Electricity and Water Authority] charges have gone up 65 per cent for electricity and 33 per cent for water."
New tariff slab
Abdullah Al Hajri, spokesman for Dewa, said, "A new slab system tariff was introduced by Dewa in March 2008, where electricity and water bill charges increase as consumption increases, starting with the original unit price for lower consumption and it is applicable to all consumers.
"From 33 fils a unit to 48 fils, is not a Dewa rate as the maximum increase for the highest consumption rate for electricity is 33 fils, so this could be the rate for the Emicool account."
Emicool's acting general manager, Adib Moubader, said, "We are fighting to put it right, so we can get a special rate for cooling."
Under Emicool, the Greens Community is considered an individual customer and therefore on the highest tier for water and electricity.
According to a resident, "an insider at Dewa said that district cooling isn't economical and it is cheaper for people to have their own air conditioning unit."
However, Moubader said that not only is district cooling more environmentally friendly, it can also save the resident a lot of money.
"In one building, using 1,200 tonnes of cooling over 25 years, can save around Dh15 million. And for a three-bedroom villa over 25 years, you can save between Dh850,000 and Dh1 million, depending on how conservative you are with energy," Moubader said.
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