What are chiller charges in Dubai?

Chiller charges are the cost for cooling in a building that is supplied by a district cooling system rather than by the individual chillers in the building. Tabreed, Emicool, and Empower charge a capacity or demand charge for the cooling capacity allocated to the tenant and a usage charge for the amount of cooling used. Both charges carry 5% VAT.

In the typical Dubai lease, the occupant is responsible for payment of cooling charges unless otherwise specified in the lease. Cooling charges are billed by a different company than DEWA.

A chiller-free building means that cooling is included in the fees paid by the owner to the building and the occupant will not be charged for cooling. The amount varies significantly between buildings. Prior to lease ask who the cooling provider is and whether the building is chiller free.