Dubai’s utility framework continues to evolve. A new federal mandate (Cabinet Resolution No. 85/2023 and Ministerial Resolution No. 43/2024) requires DEWA to switch from imperial gallons to cubic metres for all water billing from the March 2025 cycle. This aligns Dubai with international standards and the rest of the UAE (Abu Dhabi’s ADDC/AADC, Sharjah’s SEWA, and the federal FEWA/EtihadWE in the northern Emirates). To facilitate the change, DEWA will show both units (gal and m³) during a transition phase, and then fully adopt cubic metres in all bills and dashboards from March 2025.
Water Billing Units: DEWA’s infographic (above) illustrates the March-2025 switch from imperial gallons (IG) to cubic metres (m³). Customers need not change their meters – existing smart meters already support both units. Our billing and reporting systems must be updated to use cubic metres in calculations, charges and analytics. All internal reports and dashboards should convert or re-label past data, and use the new metric unit going forward.
Utility services in the UAE are managed by emirate-level authorities. In Dubai, DEWA handles water and electricity. Abu Dhabi’s utilities are split between Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC) and Al Ain Distribution Company (AADC). Sharjah uses SEWA (Sharjah Electricity, Water & Gas Authority). The northern emirates (Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, Fujairah) are served by the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA), now branded Etihad WE. Each authority publishes its own procedures, but many processes (especially tenancy-linked services via Ejari) are similar across emirates.
Smart Metering: DEWA has deployed over 2 million smart water and electricity meters in Dubai. These devices report usage frequently (e.g. every 15 minutes), enabling near-real-time monitoring. This digital infrastructure underpins Dubai’s new Smart Buildings Policy, approved in 2025, which mandates 25% cuts in energy use and 15% cuts in water use in buildings. That policy explicitly calls for “real-time monitoring systems” and automated controls in buildings. Taken together, these developments suggest utilities will encourage more frequent reporting (potentially weekly) of usage data and anomalies to improve transparency and detect leaks or spikes quickly.
To meet these operational changes, our processes must adjust accordingly:
Update Reporting and Monitoring: We should incorporate weekly or real-time consumption reports into our workflows. DEWA’s Smart Living tools (e.g. Away Mode) can send daily or weekly email reports of usage, and the “Check consumption patterns weekly” advice in their guidance highlights this. We should pull weekly data from DEWA (and other emirate utilities) into our systems. This will let us spot anomalies or unusual consumption promptly and avoid surprises.
Switch to Metric Units: All billing, analytics and compliance reports must use cubic metres for water after March 2025. Any historical data in gallons should be converted or clearly marked. This ensures internal consistency and aligns with DEWA’s new bills.
Account Holder Registration: Utility accounts must match the correct party. By regulation, DEWA ties new utility connections to the tenant named in the registered Ejari lease. In practice, “the tenant is the account holder and is responsible” for consumption and security deposits. (Landlords may temporarily hold a DEWA account during vacancies, but new tenant connections only trigger once the Ejari contract is registered.) We must verify that the name on each utility account matches the person on the lease (or title deed for owner-occupied units). Any mismatch can cause delays: DEWA will not allow a new connection on a property until the old account is closed, and utilities typically issue clearance certificates only when all names and balances are settled.
Security Deposits and Clearances: Refunds of DEWA security deposits go only to the account holder’s registered bank account (IBAN). Hence, we must handle move-outs carefully. Before releasing any tenant deposit, obtain the DEWA Clearance Certificate (final bill with zero balance) which DEWA sends when the account is closed. Only then will DEWA refund the deposit to the account holder. (By DEWA’s instructions, landlords should not return deposits to tenants until receiving this clearance.) Ensuring the correct name on the account avoids legal disputes or refund complications if a deposit was paid by or should go to the owner vs. tenant.
Timely Payments and Compliance: Prompt payment of utility bills remains critical to avoid penalties or service interruptions. Under the updated framework, regulators are emphasizing that bills be monitored and paid regularly (e.g. weekly). We should set up reminders or autopay to prevent late payments. Utility accounts not paid on time can be shut off. Aligning account details with tenancy records also helps avoid any clearance or service change issues (for example, DEWA will only transfer or close an account in the name it is registered under).
In summary, operational action items include: (1) updating our billing/reporting systems to metric units and weekly schedules; (2) using DEWA’s digital portals or APIs to pull frequent meter readings; (3) cross-checking Ejari tenancy data against utility accounts to ensure names match; and (4) instituting a routine (at least weekly) to review consumption and outstanding invoices. These steps will keep us compliant with the new regulations and improve transparency in utility management. Maintaining accurate account registration (tenant vs. owner) and on-time payments are now mandatory parts of our process. By adjusting our workflows now, we can avoid disputes, ensure refunds or deposit transfers proceed smoothly, and take advantage of Dubai’s smarter utility monitoring.