Dubai: Customers of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) will only receive electronic bills from April 1, Dewa has announced.
The Green Bill will be an electronic version of the paper bill that can be viewed on the registered customer’s email, Dewa smart mobile app and website. Emails and texts have been sent to alert customers about the switch. Customers can sign up for the Green Bill on customer.dewa.gov.ae.
Dewa says on its website that the move will help the environment by doing away with the need for paper bills. Physical documents fuel demand to cut down trees in the paper manufacturing process. According to the Dewa website, it had 677,751 electricity consumers and 605,178 water consumers in 2014 — all of whom will be sent Green Bills starting next month.
It adds that the change will also provide more convenience as the Gree Bill will be sent out as soon as it is ready and there will no need to collect any paper bill. Customers will also be able to view the bill anytime from anywhere, and be able to settle the amount online.
“Green Bills reduce the flow of personal information from unsecured mailboxes, where paper mail can be a target for theft. Green bills are transmitted securely… Green Bill allows you to reduce paper usage that helps to save trees, reduce solid waste and curb the release of greenhouse gases,” Dewa says online.
Dewa is also rolling out smart meters that will “enable automatic and detailed readings, both current and historical”. The meters will allow customers to “monitor actual consumption for a specific period of time to better understand and manage bills”.
In June 2014, Dewa officials had said consumers would be able to monitor and limit power and water bills in near-real time on smart devices in 2015.
The first stage, involving 200,000 smart meters, has already started. In stage two, set for 2016, Dewa will install the remaining meters, with the aim of having 1.2 million meters in five years, its website adds.
Under the plan, discussed last June at a Dewa press conference, smart meters will beam consumption readings to customers’ smartphones or tablets and allow them to set caps.
Dewa CEO Saeed Al Tayer had then said Dewa had already tried a “simulation at a small level”, adding officials had visited a number of US and European cities where such systems are live.
Another Dewa official had added that the option will allow the customer to “control and set a target every month. By month end, he’ll get a bill equal to that target. We aim to reach this by 2015”.
“Dewa customers conducted 3.3 million transactions in 2013 through its website and smart app. This helped eliminate the emission of 11,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide that could have resulted from customers travelling to and from Dewa offices. This equates to planting 56,331 trees in an area equivalent to 106 football fields,” Al Tayer had said.
Around two-thirds of Dewa customers now use electronic means for their transactions. Dewa provides over 150 services and features through its free smart app alone.
