Many residents of Dubai are completely aghast at the increase in their water and electric bills for September 2009. The Dubai Electric and Water Authority (Dewa) has denied the accusations of a rate hike. A new billing format has been implemented and Dewa says this new format has confused many of its members.

Many members have seen their bills jump from Dh 2500 to Dh 5000. This is not acceptable to many people and many are stating they will have to move if this is not corrected. Dewa continues to assure their members that there has been no increase in the tariff charges for electricity or water.

Dubai Marina residents, as well as though from Pal Jumeirah, Mirdiff, and The Lakes are all reporting the higher bills. Many dispute the new billing format explanation, as their bills are still in the old format, but still have doubled. The new billing format is supposed to give Dewa’s members better information about their utility usage so they conserve it better.

What is more concerning to these members is that they feel they are not getting the answers they need to the situation. It’s difficult to get in touch with Dewa and many feel the same generic answer of not raising the rates is simply not enough.