DEWA Bill Estimator

Cubic metres. DEWA retired the Imperial Gallon from the March 2025 billing cycle, following Cabinet Resolution No. 85 of 2023 and Ministerial Resolution No. 43 of 2024, which required the gallon to be discontinued on water meters across the UAE. DEWA publishes the conversion factor as 1 cubic metre = 219.9692 Imperial Gallons, so an old bill in gallons can be divided by roughly 220.

For residential customers: AED 7.700 per m³ for the first 27 m³, AED 8.800 per m³ from 27 to 54 m³, and AED 10.120 per m³ above 54 m³. Commercial and industrial customers pay the same three rates but the slabs are wider, starting at 0 to 45 m³.

Yes. DEWA's tariff page states that 5% VAT applies, and DEWA has charged VAT on consumption bills since 1 January 2018. There is no residential exemption. The split is by line item rather than by customer type: VAT applies to electricity, water, the fuel surcharge and meter charges, but not to the housing fee, sewerage fee, irrigation fee, knowledge fee or innovation fee, which DEWA only collects on behalf of Dubai Municipality.

It is a Dubai Municipality fee for wastewater that DEWA collects on the same bill. Decree No. 1 of 2015, as amended by Decree No. 47 of 2024, charges it per gallon of water used on a stepped schedule: AED 0.015 per gallon in 2025, AED 0.020 in 2026, and AED 0.028 from 1 January 2027. Because water is now metered in cubic metres, the 2026 rate works out at about AED 4.40 per m³. The fee carries no VAT.

No. Article 2 of Decree No. 1 of 2015 states the fee does not apply to real property units occupied by UAE nationals. Customize mode has a toggle for this, which removes the sewerage line from the estimate.

It passes through the changing cost of the fuel DEWA uses to generate electricity and produce water. DEWA restates it every month and prints the month on its tariff page. For August 2026 it is AED 0.060 per kWh of electricity and AED 1.100 per m³ of water. The exact figure for your billing month is printed on that month's bill.

DEWA publishes a fixed monthly meter charge alongside the slab tariffs: 5, 6 and 35 for electricity meter types 1, 2 and 3, and 5 and 7 for water meter types 1 and 2. DEWA's table gives the figures without a currency column or a stated billing period and does not define what each meter type is, so this calculator reads them as AED per month and lets you switch them off if your bill shows something different.

The most common reason is the housing fee, which is 5% of your annual rent divided by 12. It appears on the DEWA bill but is based on your rent, not your usage, so it is not included here. Other causes are a fuel surcharge that differs from the month modelled, or consumption higher than entered, which happens easily when air conditioning runs harder.

UAE nationals in their own residential property are on a subsidised tariff band. This calculator uses the published residential rates that apply to most expatriate tenants, and separately handles the sewerage exemption, which is set out in law.

Air conditioning is 60 to 70% of electricity use in most Dubai homes, so the thermostat is the biggest lever: 24°C instead of 21°C cuts air conditioning cost by roughly a fifth. Beyond that, LED bulbs use about 75% less energy than incandescent, cold washing cycles avoid heating water, and a clean AC filter every three months keeps the unit from overworking. DEWA offers a free home energy audit on request.