How to read your Kahramaa bill: tariffs, slabs and where the kWh go

Most people in Qatar look at one number on their Kahramaa bill: the total. That is a mistake. The bill is built from slabs, and the slab you end up in decides what each extra kilowatt hour costs you. Once you see how the slabs work, you know where your money goes and which savings are worth the effort.

This guide explains the current tariff, slab by slab, with worked examples. Every rate below comes from Kahramaa’s own tariff calculator, checked on 15 November 2026.

Who pays which tariff

Kahramaa charges electricity and water by customer category. Its tariff page lists these categories:

• Villa (Residential)
• Flat (Residential)
• Commercial
• Government
• Industrial (Subsidized) and Bulk Industrial
• Hotel
• Productive Farms
• EZAB (Livestock)
• Water Tanker

Your category depends on how the premises is used, not who you are. A villa or flat used mainly as a home is residential. A shop or office with a commercial licence is commercial. If your bill shows the wrong category, raise it with Kahramaa, because the rates differ.

Residential electricity: four slabs

Villas and flats use the same electricity schedule. Each month, your consumption is split into bands:

Monthly consumption	Rate per kWh
1 to 2,000 kWh	QAR 0.11
2,001 to 4,000 kWh	QAR 0.13
4,001 to 15,000 kWh	QAR 0.18
Above 15,000 kWh	QAR 0.26

This is a stepped tariff. You do not pay the higher rate on everything. You pay QAR 0.11 on the first 2,000 kWh, QAR 0.13 on the next 2,000, and so on. Only the units inside each band are charged at that band’s rate.

The point that matters: the rate on your last kilowatt hour can be more than double the rate on your first. A home using 20,000 kWh in a month pays QAR 0.26 on the top 5,000 units.

Residential water: three slabs

Water works the same way, priced per cubic metre (m³):

Monthly consumption	Rate per m³
1 to 20 m³	QAR 5.5
21 to 250 m³	QAR 7
Above 250 m³	QAR 10

Garden irrigation and pools are what push villas past the first slab. A leaking toilet cistern or a dripping irrigation line runs every hour of every day, so it shows up in the second slab quickly.

Commercial tariff

Commercial customers have fewer, wider slabs:

Electricity	Rate per kWh
1 to 4,000 kWh	QAR 0.13
4,001 to 10,000 kWh	QAR 0.17
Above 10,000 kWh	QAR 0.22

Water	Rate per m³
1 to 50 m³	QAR 6
Above 50 m³	QAR 8.6

The commercial schedule starts higher than residential. A small office that uses 8,000 kWh in a month pays 4,000 × 0.13 = QAR 520, plus 4,000 × 0.17 = QAR 680, for QAR 1,200 in total.

Worked examples for homes

These examples use the residential rates above. The consumption figures are illustrative, not data from any real household.

A flat using 1,500 kWh in a month. All of it sits in the first slab. 1,500 × 0.11 = QAR 165.

A villa using 6,000 kWh in a mild month.

Band	kWh	Rate	QAR
1 to 2,000	2,000	0.11	220
2,001 to 4,000	2,000	0.13	260
4,001 to 15,000	2,000	0.18	360
Total	6,000		840

The average works out to QAR 0.14 per kWh. But each extra unit costs QAR 0.18.

The same villa in summer, using 9,000 kWh. The first two bands are unchanged at QAR 480. The third band now holds 5,000 kWh: 5,000 × 0.18 = QAR 900. Total: QAR 1,380. Consumption rose by half. The bill rose by about 64 percent, because all the extra units landed in the dearer slab.

Water for the same villa, 30 m³. 20 × 5.5 = QAR 110, plus 10 × 7 = QAR 70. Total: QAR 180.

How to read the bill itself

Whatever the layout of your printed or app bill, look for four things:

1. Category. Villa, flat, commercial or another. It must match how the premises is used.
2. Meter readings and consumption. Previous reading, current reading and the difference in kWh and m³. Check whether the reading is actual or estimated. An estimated bill followed by an actual reading can create a large catch-up month.
3. Billing period. A period longer than usual means more units, and more of them can fall into higher slabs if the bill covers more than a month’s use.
4. Electricity and water amounts. Compare them against the slab tables above. If they do not match, recheck the consumption first.

Kahramaa’s online tariff calculator will split any consumption figure into slabs for you. So does our Kahramaa bill calculator, which also shows the CO2 behind your electricity and some saving ideas.

Where the kWh go

In a Qatar home, cooling is the big load, and it rises sharply from late spring to early autumn. That is why the summer bill jumps: the same house, the same family, but the air conditioners run longer and harder.

The other loads are smaller but steady: water heaters, fridges and freezers, lighting, laundry, pool pumps and kitchen appliances. Pool pumps and old second fridges are the classic hidden loads, running all day without anyone noticing.

A simple way to find your own split: compare your lowest winter month with your highest summer month. The difference is mostly cooling. Your winter month is close to your base load, the electricity you use regardless of weather.

Where savings pay best

Because of the slabs, a saved kilowatt hour is worth the rate of your top band, not your average. For the villa above in summer, every kWh cut saves QAR 0.18. Cutting 1,000 kWh in that month saves QAR 180.

The order to tackle it:

• Cooling setpoint and schedules. Raise the thermostat a little, and stop cooling empty rooms. This hits your biggest load directly.
• Filters and coils. Dirty AC filters and coils make units work harder for the same comfort. Clean them on a regular schedule, more often in dusty months.
• Shading and sealing. Blinds on sun-facing windows and sealed gaps around doors cut the heat the AC has to remove.
• Equipment on timers. Pool pumps and water heaters rarely need to run around the clock.
• Replacement at end of life. When an AC unit or fridge fails, buy for efficiency, not just price. It will run for years at your top-slab rate.
• Water leaks. Check the meter at night with all taps closed. If it moves, you have a leak.

The carbon in your bill

Electricity in Qatar comes almost entirely from gas-fired generation. Using Ember’s 2024 carbon intensity figure for Qatar of 0.58169 kg CO2e per kWh, published by Our World in Data, the villa using 6,000 kWh in a month is responsible for about 3,490 kg, or roughly 3.5 tonnes, of CO2e that month. This is a lifecycle factor, so it reads higher than a combustion-only figure. It is still a fair guide to the footprint behind your bill.

For households, the money and the carbon point the same way. Cutting top-slab kWh lowers both.

For businesses and building owners

A company with several sites faces the same logic at larger scale, with commercial rates that start higher. Its electricity is also Scope 2 in a greenhouse gas inventory. Reading the bills properly, by site and by month, is the first step to both an energy plan and credible emissions reporting.

If you want to turn that data into a reduction plan, our decarbonisation and net zero service starts from exactly these bills.

Sources

1. Kahramaa Tariff Calculator (results checked 15 November 2026)
2. Kahramaa tariff categories
3. Our World in Data, Carbon intensity of electricity generation (Ember data)

This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice. Check the current text of each rule with the issuing authority.