I am planning to move to Dubai with my family. My company is not going to cover my utility costs and I am trying to calculate additional monthly costs that I may expect.  Do you have any your or your friends example of typical consumption of water and electricity in Dubai ?

Is 1500kwh and 18 000 IG realistic for two bedroom (3 room, family size 3) apartment? I am sure it depends on month but maybe you can share whats the highest consumption that you had?

We have discussed this in the office and obviously there are lots of factors to take into account such as will you all be out during the day for work and school however, the average is AED 1500 per month for a large 3 bedroom townhouse (this includes water, electricity & municipality fee) and approximately AED 500 plus AED 200 (district cooling) for an apartment.  Obviously living in an apartment is cheaper than a villa as you will not be using water for the garden or pool.

District Cooling – With some of the  newer developments such as the Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residences, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, and Palm Jumeirah air-conditioning is provided by “District Cooling” and this comes at a set charge.  On top of this you will have to pay a DEWA bill for water, day to day electricity (ie washing machine, dishwasher) and the municipality fee.  Here are some examples of District Cooling charges.

Municipality Fee – Sometimes known as ‘Housing Fee’ and is calculated as 5% of the yearly rental charges which is then divided into 12 equal installments and added each month to your DEWA (water and electricity bill).  Dubai Municipality base your annual rent on the Dubai Rent Index so if this is too high you must contact the municipality and advise them of your rent.