Dubai: New district cooling laws to reduce excessive billing

Dubai: New district cooling laws to reduce excessive billing

Grace period for providers to expire on September 30

Published: Wed 15 Jun 2022, 1:46 PM

A new set of district cooling regulations will come into effect in Dubai later this year, reducing excessive billing and imposing penalties for poor energy performance.

"The grace period for the district cooling service providers and billing agents will expire on September 30, 2022, when the new comprehensive set of District Cooling Regulations comes into effect. Following this, we will supervise and monitor the activities of the district cooling companies to ensure compliance with the issued regulations," said James Grinnell, head of Water at the Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau (RSB) for the electricity and water sector in Dubai.

Grinnell was speaking at the Mena District Cooling Projects Conference held in Dubai on Wednesday.

The Bureau was established to regulate the Independent Water and Power Producers in the emirate and has also supported Dubai's Demand-Side Management (DSM) since 2013. In 2021, it received the mandate to regulate the district cooling sector, too.

RSB has so far issued 22 district cooling permits out of 24 applications among 28 companies. Among the billing agents, it has licensed 11 out of 12 applications and 11 service providers out of 12 applications.

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