DEWA electricity bill worksheet: progressive slabs and worked examples

How do progressive electricity slabs change a calculation?

Progressive billing separates monthly consumption into bands before adding the charges, so reaching a higher band does not reprice electricity already counted in a lower band. Use the dated rates in the DEWA tariff reference and confirm the account category on the actual statement.

The official DEWA tariff page is the source for the rates used here, checked 13 September 2026. The examples use residential/commercial electricity rates, a September 2026 fuel surcharge of AED 0.060/kWh and 5 percent VAT. Water, meter service charges and other account items are excluded from these example totals.

Monthly use	Slab charge, AED	Fuel surcharge, AED	Subtotal plus VAT, AED
2,000 kWh	460	120	609.00
3,000 kWh	740	180	966.00
4,000 kWh	1,020	240	1,323.00
6,000 kWh	1,660	360	2,121.00
7,000 kWh	2,040	420	2,583.00

For 3,000 kWh, the slab arithmetic is 2,000 multiplied by 0.23 plus 1,000 multiplied by 0.28, giving AED 740. Fuel adds AED 180; the illustrated taxable subtotal is AED 920 and 5 percent VAT adds AED 46. The resulting AED 966 is not the complete account bill.

What is the value of reducing consumption near a slab boundary?

A consumption reduction should be calculated by comparing the complete before-and-after slab totals, especially when the reduction crosses a boundary. A single average price can hide the amount removed from the highest band. The examples below keep the surcharge and VAT assumptions unchanged so that the consumption effect can be seen separately.

Monthly change	Difference in illustrated total
7,000 to 6,000 kWh	AED 462.00
4,000 to 3,000 kWh	AED 357.00
3,000 to 2,000 kWh	AED 357.00

Those figures are arithmetic scenarios, not promised savings from an air conditioner, window or thermostat setting. A supplier claiming the same saving for a retrofit should provide an estimate of the actual consumption change and its operating assumptions.

Which account items must be added separately?

A complete bill review should identify water, meter charges, housing or other account-specific items and any separately billed district cooling before comparing the estimate with the amount due. Check whether each item is recurring, consumption-based or a one-off charge. Do not add a percentage to the whole bill without establishing the taxable base.

1. Copy the consumption and billing period from the statement.
2. Confirm the residential/commercial or industrial tariff category.
3. Read the fuel surcharge for that billing month.
4. Calculate the electricity portion before other charges.
5. Reconcile the remaining lines against the account statement.

The glazing reference explains envelope considerations, while the tariff article distinguishes cooling capacity from electricity consumption. Neither a glazing property nor a nominal AC capacity alone predicts the monthly bill.

Download the worksheet

The CSV worksheet contains the comparison rows from this page and can be opened in a spreadsheet. Save a dated copy with the source documents, replace illustrative inputs with the project figures, and keep the assumptions visible when sharing a calculation.