Pay utility bills by machine in UAE 

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Payment of water and electricity bills has been made easier, more flexible and hassle-free with the installation of self-service payment machines by the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company

Payment of water and electricity bills has been made easier, more flexible and hassle-free with the installation of self-service payment machines by the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA).

Similar to that of the banks' automated teller machines (ATMs), bill payment transactions are easily carried out simply by following the instructions in English and Arabic.

The kiosks, which were developed by the global technology company NCR, can only accept cash at present. However, a credit card payment option may be added at a later stage. Plans are also in the pipeline to include instructions in Urdu and Malayalam.

The three-stage project commenced in January with the installation of six NCR SelfServ kiosks at the ADDC's customer services branches in Madinat Zayed, Mussafah and Bani Yas. The three-month pilot phase proved to be successful with each kiosk processing an average of 300 transactions daily.

In the second phase, 14 additional kiosks will be installed starting this month at various shopping malls and petrol stations across Abu Dhabi city.

"The ADDC is encouraging its customers to opt for the newly introduced non-branch utility bills payment system because of being hassle-free, flexible, time saving and decrease foot traffic and queue time in the ADDC's 16 customer services centres," said Mohammed bin Jaresh, ADDC managing director. For the first quarter of this year, non-branch payment of water and electricity bills has increased to 64 per cent of the total payment transactions compared to 49 per cent in 2011.

The ADDC attributed this to the growing number of customers opting for the new payment methods that include paying through its website (www.addc.ae), e-gate (www.abudhabi.ae), through its toll-free number 8002332, Empost, registered banks and money exchange.

No plans for water, power tariff hike

ABU DHABI - The Director General of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi said there are no plans to increase the water and electricity tariff in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. "The new format of bills was introduced to rationalise consumption of water and electricity," Al-Nuaimi said in a press conference on the sidelines of a forum for ADWEA affiliate companies. "ADWEA, in its five-year plan, took a decision to build three new water and electricity plants to meet demand and keep up with new projects," he added.