The Real Estate Regulatory Agency(RERA) at Dubai Land Department (DLD) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO), with the aim of achieving a number of common and related goals, most prominently reducing the total service charge for unit owners in freehold properties, the long-term benefit for a period not exceeding 99 years, and enhancing transparency in customer service for the cooling services billing system.

The MoC was signed by HE Eng Marwan bin Ghalita, CEO of RERA, and Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, and Vice Chairman of Etihad ESCO. The MoC also included cooperation in paying the cooling services in a timely manner; invoicing the energy bills (electricity and air conditioning) for the units and areas of shared spaces in the projects within the real estate invoices issued by DEWA; installing, maintaining and reading energy meters through Etihad ESCO and making payments directly to DEWA; and exploring the possibility of implementing energy efficiency solutions in the building that could help reduce energy costs.

Bin Ghalita said: “At RERA, we seek to enhance the flexibility and ease of customer access to services, raise their level of happiness and trust, and enhance the principle of transparency in providing the required services. The MoC with Etihad ESCO would help achieve a qualitative leap in the field of energy efficiency and other relevant fields, and we will work together to achieve it in the best way. We will work to continuously develop partnerships that would contribute to strengthening the infrastructure of the real estate sector in its various fields and trends.”

Salman commented: “We look forward to this partnership with RERA to achieve the specified results and goals. In accordance with the MoC, Etihad ESCO is committed to conducting a feasibility study, coordinating field visits, establishing and proposing an invoice form, and developing a project financing model.”

Mohammed Khalifa bin Hammad, Senior Director of the Real Estate Relations Regulatory Department at RERA, said: “According to the MoC, RERA is committed to providing 10 buildings for the purpose of implementing the pilot project, with all the necessary data for the buildings included in the pilot project that Etihad ESCO may request, in addition to providing the necessary support and coordination with all relevant parties, including central cooling service providers, and jointly owned properties to perform services related to the MoC, in addition to organising the framework by issuing a policy that regulates the work that enforces and approves the business model and obligates all concerned parties.”

RERA continues to develop partnerships with the public and private sectors in many related fields through which it seeks to enhance cooperation and consolidate strategic relations with all partners and stakeholders.