Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | One Step initiative saves time & effort getting electricity and water

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has called upon the public to vote for its One Step initiative, which has been shortlisted for the Hamdan bin Mohammed Program for Smart Government 2017. The programme is supervised by the Dubai’ The Model Centre, part of the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai. The public can vote for the ‘Best Government Initiative’ that contributes to their happiness and makes their experience easier on http://vote.dtmc.gov.ae from 23 November to 7 December 2017.

The One Step initiative, which is available across several platforms supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI), has reduced customers’ time and effort, as well as the number of steps from 6 steps to just one step to activate, deactivate, and transfer electricity and water services. It also provides smart options to pay bills without having to visit DEWA’s Customer Happiness Centres. The initiative benefits over 800,000 customers in Dubai, and contributes to avoiding 96 tonnes of carbon emissions resulting from 7 million transactions a year. Customer happiness about the initiative has reached over 96%.

The One Step initiative allows customers to get electricity and water services as soon as they get their Ejari contracts from any of the 800 real estate companies accredited by Dubai Land Department. Customers can also deactivate electricity and water services, and get their final bills using DEWA’s smart app or website. Customers can also get their security deposits transferred directly to their bank account, using their IBAN number, or choose to receive a cheque by express mail to their local address. Customers can transfer their electricity and water supply from their current address to their new premises if they move to a new house in Dubai. The customer’s security deposit and all data is transferred without the need to submit any additional documents or visit DEWA’s customer happiness centres.

The initiative also provides self-service and smart payment methods at DEWA’s customer happiness centres, giving customers additional smart payment options. Customers can benefit from the easy payment plans when they use credit cards issued by Emirates NBD or Mashreq banks, with no interest or additional charges.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA expressed his delight that the One Step initiative has been shortlisted by the Hamdan bin Mohammed Program for Smart Government. He noted that the initiative is part of DEWA’s efforts to implement the Dubai’ The Model Centre’s methodology to improve government services, and DEWA’s commitment to involve all stakeholders and the public in developing and improving its services. This is to achieve stakeholders’ happiness. DEWA cooperates with its partners from the government and private sector to achieve this.

“DEWA works to fulfil the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to provide the best government services that facilitate people's lives and achieve their happiness. DEWA strives to adopt innovative ways to improve the quality of services based on the highest standards of efficiency and reliability. We provide smart services that enable customers to carry out their transactions anytime, anywhere, without having to visit DEWA’s centres. This saves them time and effort, and achieves their happiness. Adoption of DEWA’s smart services reached 80%, ahead of the deadline set by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. We aim to reach 90% by end of this year. These efforts support the Dubai Plan2021, which aims to make Dubai a smart, integrated, and connected city, and DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable innovative world class utility,” said Al Tayer.