A proposal to allow additional electricity and water meters for select government housing units has received unanimous approval from the Northern Municipal Council.
The initiative aims to ease the burden on families living in shared homes while enhancing overall safety.
The recommendation, submitted by councillor Abdulla Al Qobaisi, was endorsed without objection before being referred to Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak.
The proposal aims to allow the installation of separate electricity and water meters for housing units that feature clearly defined, self‑contained living spaces, occupied by married children, divorced daughters residing in a partitioned section of the home, or married heirs who continue to live within the same property.
According to the council’s technical committee, the idea was driven by mounting complaints from families facing soaring utility bills as multiple households share a single meter, pushing consumption into higher tariff brackets.
Technical committee chairman Jassim Hejres said the proposal addresses both safety and fairness.
“Many of these homes were built years ago when the number of electrical appliances per family was far lower,” he said. “Today, several families may be living under one roof, all relying on a single meter. This creates excessive load on internal wiring, increases the risk of electrical faults and fires, and results in disproportionately high bills.”
The proposal lists 10 key justifications, including reducing electrical load on internal networks, enhancing safety by limiting risks of short circuits and fire, improving power stability during peak summer demand, and making maintenance easier by isolating loads without affecting the entire house.
It also argues that the measure keeps pace with modern living patterns and addresses equity where “compound families” occupy one unit with semi-independent extensions.
Under the proposed conditions, additional meters would only be permitted where homes contain separate apartments and in specific cases.
Applicants would be required to update their data annually through the government’s e-services platform to verify addresses, obtain a no-objection certificate and building permit from the municipality, and specify the upgraded electricity and water connection capacity needed to handle the additional load.
A key safeguard is that any newly issued meter would be cancelled automatically if the beneficiary changes address, ensuring the exception is not misused. Mr Al Qobaisi said the proposal is rooted in social realities.
“We are seeing repeated disputes among heirs and married siblings over how to split electricity and water bills,” he said. “This creates tension within families and financial strain because one bill, calculated at a high rate, covers multiple households.”
He added that the current situation does not place extra pressure on infrastructure because these families are already living in the homes and consuming the utilities – only through a single connection.
“What we are proposing is administrative organisation, not increased consumption,” he said. “It protects social cohesion, reduces disputes, and improves safety without burdening the network.”
The technical committee endorsed the proposal unanimously and referred it as a formal recommendation to the minister, supported by committee and constituency memoranda.
If approved at ministerial level, the measure could offer relief to many housing beneficiaries struggling with rising bills and ageing electrical systems, while formalising a situation that municipal officials say already exists across numerous housing projects.
Mr Al Mubarak will review the proposal alongside Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Yasser Humaidan.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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