A new suite of district cooling regulations aimed at reducing excessive billings and other issues is nearing completion, a senior Dubai government official said.
“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,” James Grinnell, head of water at the Regulatory and Supervisory Bureau (RSB) for the electricity and water sector in Dubai, said.
“Following this, we will supervise and monitor the activities of the district cooling companies to ensure compliance with the issued regulations,” Grinnell added.
Grinnel was speaking at the two-day MENA District Cooling Projects Conference which started on June 14, 2022 in Dubai.
In permitting companies, the RSB has ensured last year’s reductions to the fuel surcharge are being passed through to customers by billing agents.
It also aims to ensure only one deposit will be allowed per unit – either from landlord or tenant, and prohibit prolonged estimated billing, fast replacement of faulty meters.
“As per the new regulations, district cooling permit holders have obligations to develop and publish a customer charter and measure performance against it, clear engagement obligations when dealing with customers in arrears, obligation to deliver chilled water, prompt return of deposits, reduce occurrence of excess contract capacity estimates; penalties for poor energy performance, obligation to monitor and report health and safety, etc,” he said.
These new sets of regulations will bring increased transparency and establish stakeholder accountability to make the district cooling sector more efficient and customer centric.
RSB was established in 2010 by the Dubai Government to regulate Dubai’s power and water sector.
It was mandated to regulate the Independent Water and Power Producers (IWPP) in 2011, and has supported Dubai’s demand-side management (DSM) since 2013.
Last year it received a mandate to regulate the district cooling sector as per the Executive Council Resolution No. 6 of 2021.
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.
Other governments in the Middle East are also putting in place regulatory regimes to ensure structured growth of the air conditioning system industry, speakers at the conference revealed.
Governments of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have been working on regulations over the last few years.
More than 250 delegates, including senior government officials, project owners, developers, utility suppliers, industry experts and key stakeholders participated at the conference.
The two-day event discussed project opportunities worth $15 billion (Dh55 billion), or 10 percent of the $150 billion global district cooling market.
The conference takes place at a time when the district cooling sector is expanding at a fast pace in the UAE, GCC and the rest of the Middle East and North Africa due to a global target of zero net emission by 2050.
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