Emirates Central Cooling Corporation (Empower) has launched an awareness campaign on the billing of its services in a bid to boost transparency and loyalty among its rising customer base in Dubai.

District cooling (DC) is measured in refrigeration ton which is equivalent to 12000 BTU's per hour. Refrigeration Ton is the unit measure for the amount of heat removed.

Refrigeration Ton is defined as the heat absorbed by one ton of ice (2000 pounds) causing it to melt completely by the end of one day (24 hours).

“We are the first district cooling company in the UAE to introduce metering in 2007," said Ahmed Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower.

"We consider customers as the backbone of our operations and raising customer awareness of our services and billing systems is the key to winning their loyalty," he noted.

"As and when customers of Empower use the air-conditioning, the meter will run at the rate of 0.568 fils per RT per hour. It is billed in arrears at the end of each month," Bin Shafar explained.

On the other hand, there is the demand charge, which is a recurring annual fee, levied by Empower for providing District Cooling Service at Dh750 per Refrigeration Ton (RT) per annum, billed and paid quarterly in advance.

He emphasized that Empower bills its customers based on the actual metered consumption of cooling services.

The RT of the customer’s unit is pre-determined by the developer depending on its unit area and premise type, he noted.

"Forming part of the bill is the meter maintenance which is charged quarterly at Dh50 per quarter to cover the testing and maintenance of each meter installed in the apartment."

"It is billed in arrears in the last month of each quarter, while the connection charge is a one-off fee to be paid by the owner for the connection, which is different from the Refundable Security Deposit that is paid at the time of registration," said Bin Shafar.

He pointed out that like any other utilities, Empower charges are linked to the cost of inputs and general inflation index and are subject to revision, and, as such, tariffs are subject to change.

To save energy, customers must control their consumption by optimizing the setting of their thermostat or reducing cooling losses through their windows and doors.

“Empower's District Cooling system is underpinned by a skilled round-the-clock service team and a comprehensive set of emergency back-up systems that ensure complete reliability,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service