# Ridiculous chiller fees in JLT



## areezm

My last bill from Palm District Cooling was 540 for one month and that too for a one bedroom. The a/c doesnt even cool that much and only gets to around 25 deg. Was wondering what others in JLT are paying and in other areas like Marina and JBR. I am thinking of just turning off the water supply (which is in the apartment) so that they cannot charge me consumption anymore. But am sure this being Dubai, they will say the meter is busted and charge me an average anyways.


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## Tropicana

i have a 1 bed and pay 210 fixed for capacity

consumption rangs from 0 to 100 dhs in July, it will be higher in August but havent received the bill yet

SO a total from 240 - 360


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## saima1215

I pay 750+ every month! This PDC bill is ridiculous! Any tips on how to reduce this? I also have a one bedroom apartment.


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## TallyHo

The answer is simple. don't live in a district cooling apartment. 

I'm always surprised at how people latch onto JLT or Discovery Gardens because it's cheaper and fail to factor in the PDC expenses. TECOM apartments are similarly priced but TECOM doesn't have PDC. Or for the price of a one-bedroom in JLT + PDC charges, you can probably get an apartment in the Greens, which is not PDC and is a nicer community. 



saima1215 said:


> I pay 750+ every month! This PDC bill is ridiculous! Any tips on how to reduce this? I also have a one bedroom apartment.


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## Kawasutra

Tropicana said:


> i have a 1 bed and pay 210 fixed for capacity
> 
> consumption rangs from 0 to 100 dhs in July, it will be higher in August but havent received the bill yet
> 
> SO a total from 240 - 360


+ water and electricity from DEWA.....


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## INFAMOUS

Gotta pay to play


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## Felixtoo2

This is a good example of how important it is to negotiate chiller fees included in your rent. If you don`t you have no comeback as th bill can be massaged to be any figure that the compan wants to charge you. I know it`s too late for those reading this that are already paying their chjiller but if anyone reading this is in the process of renting my advise is simple, do not rent an apt unless it includes the chiller fees. It`s a renters market and there are thousands of empty ones, this will save you not only hassle but cold hard cash!!


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## saima1215

TallyHo said:


> The answer is simple. don't live in a district cooling apartment.
> 
> I'm always surprised at how people latch onto JLT or Discovery Gardens because it's cheaper and fail to factor in the PDC expenses. TECOM apartments are similarly priced but TECOM doesn't have PDC. Or for the price of a one-bedroom in JLT + PDC charges, you can probably get an apartment in the Greens, which is not PDC and is a nicer community.


Well the PDC has just started a few months back. I have done the same calculation as you and will be moving out in April (just waiting for my contract to finish).


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## Tropicana

Felixtoo2 said:


> This is a good example of how important it is to negotiate chiller fees included in your rent. If you don`t you have no comeback as th bill can be massaged to be any figure that the compan wants to charge you. I know it`s too late for those reading this that are already paying their chjiller but if anyone reading this is in the process of renting my advise is simple, do not rent an apt unless it includes the chiller fees. It`s a renters market and there are thousands of empty ones, this will save you not only hassle but cold hard cash!!


Its a renters market but landlords are delusional and stubborn in general. 

Last year, i turned down many apts which were not including chiller fees, and the landlords were more than happy to not have tenants who wouldnt pay Palm cooling charges
. One apt laid empty for 5 months because the landlord wouldnt pay chiller fees


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## Kawasutra

Tropicana said:


> Its a renters market but landlords are delusional and stubborn in general.
> 
> . One apt laid empty for 5 months because the landlord wouldnt pay chiller fees


The math is not everybodys darling...

My place was empty for 3 month before I moved in because the landlord refused to decrease the anual rent by 5k , now he lost 24k.....:doh:


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## Saint Ari

saima1215 said:


> I pay 750+ every month! This PDC bill is ridiculous! Any tips on how to reduce this? I also have a one bedroom apartment.


That seems a little excessive, no? Where abouts are you?

I'm in JBR and have the AC running 24/7 on a 1300 sq ft 1 BD apt .. and I pay around 500 on a quarterly demand charge .. and about 150 on the other two months .. so thats about 260 on average ... oh, and I have Empower to cool my down ... and I still find it expensive ... I can only imagine paying 750+ / month ...


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## ash_ak

am in the marina and i pay a flat 5k/yr for my 2BR, works out to 416/mth, doesnt matter if i turn it all the way down, of course got it written into my contract before i signed the lease, one less hassle to deal with in dubai.


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## saima1215

Saint Ari said:


> That seems a little excessive, no? Where abouts are you?
> 
> I'm in JBR and have the AC running 24/7 on a 1300 sq ft 1 BD apt .. and I pay around 500 on a quarterly demand charge .. and about 150 on the other two months .. so thats about 260 on average ... oh, and I have Empower to cool my down ... and I still find it expensive ... I can only imagine paying 750+ / month ...


My one bedroom is about 1000 sq ft and I also keep the AC on 24/7. I'm paying consumption charges as well - maybe that's why? Oh, and I'm in JLT!


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## Saint Ari

saima1215 said:


> My one bedroom is about 1000 sq ft and I also keep the AC on 24/7. I'm paying consumption charges as well - maybe that's why? Oh, and I'm in JLT!


Oh wow .. yeah .. that's a big excessive ... and I thought Empower was ripping me off bigtime ... good thing I dont have PDC ...


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## areezm

If your bill is so high, most likely your water regulator is not connected and so when you turn off the a/c, the water is still going full flow. How cold does it get in your apartment? I found mine was disconnected and just sitting on the side. After reconnecting, it would reduce the water flow when turned off. Also, it seems like as Lake Terrace has the shut off valves in the apartment, that PDC is not able to disconnect individual apartments. So most likely they are not supplying very cold water and that is most likely why the ac doesnt seem to be cooling very much. Anyways, have decided to shut off the water valve whenever I am out to see if that lowers the bill. Fingers crossed.


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## davecaltech

Hey guys 

I live in JLT, so far I've paid 2 dewa bills, which are around 500AED/month, including 300AED/housing fee (5% rent)

And luckily my company will reimburse the housing fee on an annual base

I see zero cooling fee appear on my dewa bill........

Any difference?

Many thanks.

Dave


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## hhl103

I am actually in the process of trying to find a flat for myself. Can you guys kindly tell me the full name of PDC? 

I am trying to figure out all the fees I have to pay to rent a flat

Is it like:
(1) rent
(2) Dewa (how much is it approximately? Is it like 5 % of annual rent? Do I have to pay it every month like a monthly bill?)
(3) agent commission
(4) deposit (is it like 5% of the annual rent, which is refundable at the end of the contract? )
(5) PDC as you guys call it, if this fee is not included in the contract.


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## areezm

hhl103 said:


> I am actually in the process of trying to find a flat for myself. Can you guys kindly tell me the full name of PDC?
> 
> I am trying to figure out all the fees I have to pay to rent a flat
> 
> Is it like:
> (1) rent
> (2) Dewa (how much is it approximately? Is it like 5 % of annual rent? Do I have to pay it every month like a monthly bill?)
> (3) agent commission
> (4) deposit (is it like 5% of the annual rent, which is refundable at the end of the contract? )
> (5) PDC as you guys call it, if this fee is not included in the contract.


PDC is Palm District Cooling. This is seperate from Dewa. They provide cooling for the A/C in Jumeirah Lake Towers. Try to get this included in your rent and make sure the a/c works before you agree to any flat in JLT. Many flats have been disconnected for non-payment.


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## DUS

That is an interesting discussion, had no idea.
What is a fair (average) monthly amount payable to PDC for a standard 2BR in JLT?

Marina has PDC too or again a different system?

Cheers


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## hayesh

*Cooling Charges*

Jumeirah Lake Towers, MotorCity and Green Community are some of the worst offenders when it comes to ridiculous cooling charges. I once lived in Motor City and I was being charged over AED 500 per month, in just cooling charges. It was only a 1 BD and I travelled most of the time.

If you are a tenant, the Emaar properties are the best choice such as Greens, Springs, etc. District Cooling was touted for its economical and environmental benefits as a result. No one thought that it would be a way to milk the tenants.


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## saima1215

I just got my PDC bill for this month - AED 963.74!!! Something has to be wrong! I live in a 1 bd apt in JLT (less than 1000sq ft). Has anyone else experienced anything similar? The capacity charges are only 223.63. Is there any way I can dispute this or get it revised? Please help!


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## Saint Ari

That's a bit excessive ... if I were in your shoes ... imma go talk to PDC or something rather .. it seems that you're cooling the entire floor. I'm in a 1400 sq ft 1 BD with high ceilings ... and I pay Empower about a quarter of what you pay ...


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## saya123

i moved out of motor city due to excessive district cooling charges from emicool with a view that chiller under regular dewa bill would be much cheaper.. so i moved to sports city, golf tower. any guesses of what my dewa bill (excluding housing fee) is? an avg of 1500/month... yes its a two bedroom apartment, approx 1500 sqft, but still this is ridiculous.. i have complained to dewa and they have formally come back to me that metre is working perfectly fine and this is my actual consumption.. i have complained to developer as well to come and check the ac unit and they say the ac unit is fine.. 

the cooling itself is so ordinary that the temperature never goes below 23-24 degrees.. so a big no no if anybody thinkin about moving to these towers... whatever u save on rent will go to dewa!


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## Saint Ari

My bill just came in .. and my consumption charge for August is 229 .. and a fuel surcharge of 33 dhs ... just saying...


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## saima1215

Saint Ari said:


> My bill just came in .. and my consumption charge for August is 229 .. and a fuel surcharge of 33 dhs ... just saying...


Lucky you! I'm still trying to sort mine out. The people who work for PDC are the biggest idiots who can care less about our concerns.


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## Felixtoo2

Got mine today, 2 bed 1700sqft Marina, A/C on 24/7

Electricity 100.28
Fuel Surcharge 30.52
Water 33.29
Fuel Surcharge 3.80
Meter Charge 2.00
Sewerage 4.75

Total 174.64dhs


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## DUS

I need to bring this one up again...
Currently looking to move into a 2BR in Marina or JLT. Whilst JLT as has some okay-appartments, the fear of being overcharged on cooling is holding me back.

So, could someone explain me how this PDC works and if it is in every building? Why is it that some people pay close to 1000AED/month in 1BR and others get along just fine?

How can I ensure I am not running into such a trap? Including all chiller fees in the contract is an option or may that leave me with a landlord who is not paying the charges and in the end they cut off my AC for outstanding payments?

Appreciate any advice - cheers!


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## Canuck_Sens

Felixtoo2 said:


> This is a good example of how important it is to negotiate chiller fees included in your rent. If you don`t you have no comeback as th bill can be massaged to be any figure that the compan wants to charge you. I know it`s too late for those reading this that are already paying their chjiller but if anyone reading this is in the process of renting my advise is simple, do not rent an apt unless it includes the chiller fees. It`s a renters market and there are thousands of empty ones, this will save you not only hassle but cold hard cash!!


Agreed, that's what I am doing today ...and several apartments are being rented out "chiller free"...just run a quick run on dubizzle with key words "free chiller"


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## areezm

Canuck_Sens said:


> Agreed, that's what I am doing today ...and several apartments are being rented out "chiller free"...just run a quick run on dubizzle with key words "free chiller"


Just make sure the chiller actually works!!! Right now temps are low enough for the chiller to not necessarily be working and just the fan will be enough. I would suggest to ask to see the last six bills to know what the average cost will be. PDC is expensive and there is no two ways about it. I would stay on the Dubai Marina side and get an apt with Empower or something.


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