Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE) announced that its specialized departments have completed updating data for approximately 6,000 farms out of the 9,000 covered by the gracious initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, which supports electricity tariffs for citizen farmers in the northern regions. This initiative has been in effect since January this year.
Engineer Yousif Ahmed Al Ali, CEO of the company, stated that about 3,000 farms are still in the process of having their data updated, as the company continues to communicate with their owners. He emphasized that the company is keen on ensuring all farm owners benefit from the support program ordered by H.H. the President, particularly since it significantly reduces the financial burden on an important segment of the company's customers.
He clarified that under the support program, the price of a kilowatt is only 7.5 fils, in comparison to the previous price, which ranged between 28 and 33 fils. He noted that most farmers would observe a difference in their electricity bills in the coming months, which will encourage them to increase their production and consequently contribute to meeting the local market's demand for various agricultural crops.
The CEO of EtihadWE stressed the importance of farm owners updating their data to ensure they benefit from the support. He also highlighted the necessity of consolidating all meters serving a single farm into one account, as the supported tariff cannot be applied to more than one account for the same farm.
Engineer Yousif Al Ali mentioned that the support is limited to accounts registered before the issuance of the decree and does not include connections for new farms. It is also restricted to only one farm per owner, whether for personal use or as part of food security initiatives. Furthermore, to be eligible for the support, the farm must not be classified under the 'commercial' category or used for commercial purposes, and the owner should not be receiving other support from local entities.