Bahraini citizens paid 25 fils per cubic metre for their first 60 m³ of water in 2024, against a cost the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) put at 750 fils. That band recovered about 3.3% of EWA's stated cost. On the electricity side, the first band charged 3 fils per kWh against a cost of 29 fils, or about 10.3%.
The 2026 increase missed the widest gap
From January 2026 the non-subsidised water rate rose from 750 to 775 fils per m³, and electricity from 29 to 32 fils per kWh. Citizens' first and second tiers in primary homes stayed unchanged, so the bands with the largest gap between price and cost did not move.
Billing is now a political question
On 25 October 2026 six MPs asked the Speaker for a parliamentary inquiry into EWA's metering, billing and the tariffs under Decision No 2 of 2025 as amended by Decision No 1 of 2026. Earlier that month, on 12 October, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister ordered that citizens could join EWA's Fixed Billing System retroactively, back to May 2026. Customers still rate the service highly: EWA's General Satisfaction Index was 90.90% for January–September 2025.
Who will set tariffs next
A draft Electricity and Water Sector Regulation Law, sent to parliament in September 2025, would hand tariff powers to an independent regulator. In June 2026 a committee deferred it, partly because MPs want tariff changes to need parliamentary approval.
What EWA's network, plants and customer base look like, which projects are in procurement and how the draft law would reorganise the authority are covered in the profile. The full report, Utility Intelligence Profile: Electricity and Water Authority, is available for USD 99. For a free overview, read the Electricity and Water Authority Utility Snapshot.