News

As part of the Government of Bahrain’s ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of government services and re-engineer service delivery, the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) has enhanced its Fixed Monthly Direct Debit registration service through the Benefit App. The digital service is designed to simplify the registration process, enhance the customer experience, and provide more efficient and convenient digital channels for completing transactions.

Through this enhanced service, the processing time has been reduced from four working days to an immediate transaction by fully automating the registration process through the Benefit App. Customers can now complete their registration electronically without the need to issue or sign an agreement or wait for the bank to update the application status. The enhancement has also resulted in a 100% reduction in the service level agreement (SLA) processing time and a 100% reduction in the number of required documents.

In this regard, Mr. Ahmed Najeeb Al-Jamea, Director of Customer Services at the Electricity and Water Authority, stated that the enhancement forms part of the Authority’s ongoing efforts to adopt innovative digital solutions that simplify procedures and improve the efficiency of services provided to customers, while making government services more accessible and delivering a smoother and more effective customer experience.

He added that the enhancement included a complete re-engineering of the service procedures, eliminating a number of previous requirements and processes, as well as standardising and updating service information across all digital channels. These improvements reduce the time and effort required from customers while enhancing the quality of the Authority’s digital services.

He further explained that the Fixed Monthly Direct Debit service enables customers to pay a fixed monthly amount throughout the year, calculated based on their average consumption. This helps distribute consumption costs more evenly across the year and reduces fluctuations in payment amounts between different seasons.

It is worth noting that, as part of the Government of Bahrain’s continued efforts to develop and re-engineer government services, more than 1,300 government services have been documented, translated and published, with over 800 services undergoing enhancement and re-engineering across various government entities. These improvements were implemented based on proposals and feedback received through the national suggestions and complaints system, Tawasul, investor feedback, and government service evaluations conducted through the Mystery Shopper Programme. In addition, service guides and service level agreements have been introduced to improve procedural efficiency, enhance the quality of government services, strengthen customer experience, and support the Government’s digital transformation agenda.