Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | organises ‘50 Years to the Nation’ forum

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18 March 2019

DEWA organises 50 Years to the Nation forum

DEWA organises ‘50 Years to the Nation’ forum

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is organising the ‘50 Years to the Nation’ forum to introduce the 50-Year Charter, Eight Principles of governance in Dubai, and the ten Rules for Leadership launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The forum celebrates 50th anniversary of His Highness serving the nation.

The forum was inaugurated by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, at Dubai World Trade Centre, Zabeel Hall 3. HE Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai; said HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World; HE Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai; also attended, along with DEWA’s Executive Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents; and over 1,000 DEWA employees.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, HE Dhahi Khalfan, HE Sultan bin Sulayem, and HE Abdulla Al Basti all spoke at the event. They talked about the 50-Year Charter, the Eight Principles of governance in Dubai, and the Ten Rules for Leadership.

At the beginning of his speech, Al Tayer expressed his pride in discussing the worthy directives, principles, and rules launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the 50-Year Charter, Eight Principles of governance in Dubai, and the ten Rules for Leadership detailed by His Highness in his book, ‘My Story… 50 Memories from 50 Years of Service,’ which have defined DEWA’s direction.

“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum laid down the foundations and important principles that will help to achieve his vision to strengthen Dubai as a global model of a futuristic city, raise its quality of life, and achieve the happiness of its citizens and residents, which accomplish the objectives of the UAE National Agenda 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071. We learned from these directives and, with DEWA’s leadership team, included them in its mission, strategy and corporate values, and strategic key performance indicators; and started applying them effectively,” said Al Tayer.

Al Tayer said DEWA is the first government organisation to reformulate its vision based on these directives, principles, and rules, to become a globally leading, sustainable, innovative corporation: “DEWA also set specific goals, clear performance indicators, and targets within our strategy to achieve these directives that we will incorporate into all relevant procedures, processes, and systems at DEWA to ensure that it implements the vision of our wise leadership to shape the government of the future and keep pace with the rapid developments in various fields, such as The Fourth Industrial Revolution as well as disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, drones, energy storage, blockchain technology, and the internet of things, among others.”

“Article seven of the 50-Year Charter stipulates developing a comprehensive system that allows at least a tenth of our citizens' homes to be self-sufficient in terms of water, food, and energy. DEWA and its supporting entities were tasked to achieve this goal. As soon as these were announced, we directly formed a special team from DEWA’s relevant divisions to develop an integrated plan to implement the directives of His Highness to achieve energy self-sufficiency in 10% of citizens’ homes, changing the lifestyles and protecting the environment. DEWA is the first government department to implement the 50-Year Charter’s articles. Under the directives and follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, we launched a series of initiatives and projects to achieve these objectives, which are: Install solar panels in 5,000 homes (10% of citizen homes) and link them to the DEWA grid, replace traditional lightbulbs with energy-saving LED bulbs in target homes, and provide and install water-saving devices in these houses,” said Al Tayer.

During his speech, Al Tayer announced that DEWA awarded the photovoltaic solar panel installation project to six contractors who have already started work. Etihad ESCO is supervising the project to install energy-saving LED lightbulbs and water-saving devices. The project will be completed before the end of 2019. DEWA is proceeding according to a clear vision and strategies that focus on conserving natural resources, promoting clean energy, and implementing green development plans that contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030. DEWA is working hard to promote the transition to renewable energy sources, paying close attention to resource sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, and energy and water consumption rationalisation.

“The project is in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to diversify energy sources and provide 75% of Dubai's total power output from clean energy by 2050. To achieve this, we launched many green programmes, initiatives, and projects, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world with a generation capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030, with investments of up to AED 50 billion. On completion, the solar park will contribute to reducing 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. We adopted the independent power producer model to implement the solar park’s projects, which allowed us to achieve record-breaking solar power prices four times in a row. We implemented the strategies, visions and directives of our wise leadership, and we achieved competitive results in global benchmarking. DEWA’s extensive efforts resulted in the UAE, represented by DEWA, maintaining its global first ranking for the second consecutive year, in Getting Electricity indicators in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report.  DEWA surpassed the private sector and major European and American utilities in efficiency and reliability. DEWA reduced losses from electricity transmission and distribution networks to 3.3% compared to 6–7% in the US and Europe. DEWA also achieved the lowest customer minutes lost per year (CML) in the world of 2.39 CML compared to 15 minutes in Europe and was also able to reduce water network losses to 6.5% in 2018 compared to 15% in North America, which is one of the best results in the world. The fuel efficiency of our latest power plants increased to about 90%.This contributed to DEWA achieving 95% in the 2018 Happiness Index for large government entities in Dubai. DEWA also launched the Shams Dubai initiative to encourage building owners to install solar panels on rooftops and connect them to its grid. The initiative achieved great success, with 1,276 solar panels installed and connected so far, with a total capacity of about 81 megawatts. The solar panel installation in citizens’ homes supports the Demand Side Management Strategy 2030 to reduce energy and water use by 30% by 2030; and the Carbon Abatement Strategy, which targets a reduction of 16% in carbon emissions by 2021,” Al Tayer said.

“DEWA’s conservation programmes and initiatives achieved significant savings over the past decade in electricity and water consumption within the target groups. The cumulative savings between 2009 and 2018 amounted to two terawatt-hours of electricity and 7.4 billion gallons of water, worth AED 1.2 billion in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, in addition to educational facilities and government and semi-governmental institutions. These savings contributed to the reduction of one million tonnes of carbon emissions. The 50-Year Charter launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, states that ‘Charity is indeed a major factor in the happiness of societies and the continuity of progress and prosperity.’ DEWA is one of the leading organisations  in community services . DEWA also received the MVO 8000 in CSR, becoming the first government organisation in Dubai to receive this global recognition. As part of DEWA’s humanitarian and voluntary programmes for the Year of Tolerance, we have organised in cooperation with Noor Dubai, a programme for volunteers in Bangladesh at the ‘Zayed Alkhair’ Camp. The camp has treated over 4,500 elderly people for cataracts and other eye-related diseases,” he added.

“I would like to reiterate that the Eight Principles of Governance in Dubai, the 50-Year Charter, and the ‘My Story… Memories from Fifty Years of Service’ book, including the ten Rules for Leadership, are a treasure trove of ideas, lessons, and proverbs. I invite you to read them thoroughly and apply them in your personal and professional lives. I urge you to continue your efforts to maintain the achievements you’ve made, and accomplish even more, in line with the vision of our wise leadership to create a brighter, happier, and more prosperous and sustainable future for generations to come,” Al Tayer concluded.

“Words alone cannot fully describe His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The philosophy of change and development is well established in His Highness, as he is a true pioneer in the change for the better. Even in times of crisis, His Highness remains positive, aiming to spread that spirit in everyone and seeking early development, customer satisfaction, and high-level government services. He eliminated queues, conducted field visits to establish a principle that decreed officials welcome customers at any moment to conclude transactions as soon as possible, and initiated the dialogue between customers and employees,” said HE Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai.

“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a leader who grew up among two major leaders, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. When we consider this great leader’s story and how he began his life, attending discussions between the late Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid regarding the formation of the Union and the future federal country, his influence on the foundation of the Union’s pillars is evident despite his youth,” he added.

Khalfan said that Dubai Police was the first to establish the rules for quality and excellence in Dubai, community policing, and human rights foundations and standards for over a quarter century. At the beginning of his speech, he spoke of the first steps for strategic planning at Dubai Police, the first officers' course on strategic planning held in 1999, and the first strategic plan developed for Dubai Police, all of which align with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and focus on key points to position Dubai as a global financial and technology hub. The strategy includes the vision, mission, values, policy, and strategic objectives and held the line of ‘A strong and un-authoritative police force for a just society and a strong economy,’ as well as a set of strategic objectives that are in line with the different sectors of police work.

Khalfan also discussed Dubai Police's vision and its adoption of the concept of strategic choice and the directives of the Dubai Police General Command since the 1990s to spread a strategy-focused culture based on its employees, which enabled it to follow the thoughts and directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Khalfan added that when forming a strategic team to develop plans, several steps must be followed, most notably the collecting and analysing of information in both the internal and external work environments to reach potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks, and to make predictions for the future.

At the end of his speech, Khalfan addressed the audience by setting specific strategic goals for each of them and urging them to pursue them if they want to succeed in their practical lives.

“that the 50-Year Charter comprises articles to improve the quality of life in Dubai, along with the 10 Rules for Leadership that are aligned to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, serves as a guide for achieving sustainable development throughout the Emirate. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wanted to measure the progress of implementing the principles, as well as the commitment to work in accordance with them throughout all departments, including government organisations. Al Basti commended DEWA’s readiness to align its plans and strategies with the broader objectives of the Charter and to contribute to the vision of creating a brighter future for the upcoming generations.” Said HE Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai

“The directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum provide insights into the challenges and the importance of working to improve standards of living, which includes the creation of a prosperous future for our generations to come. They also highlight the importance of combining efforts of the private and public sector to promote sustainable development and attracting minds to establish Dubai as a destination for creators, researchers, and as an incubator for nurturing talent and innovation,” said Al Basti.

"His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum recognises that his pioneering vision of achieving change requires a dimension of unconventional ideas to ensure we continue our upward trajectory of prosperity and development. These directives were established to be used as a framework that will serve as a road-map for the future success of Dubai as well as ensure human development remains at the focal point of this vision. To achieve our desired goals, we need to put our heads together and work in a creative manner to make sure we’re on the path to succeed.” added Al Basti

"His Highness has pledged to work in accordance with the directives of the eight principles of governance, the 50-Year Charter and the book - My Story, 50 Memories in 50 Years, which include the 10 Rules for Leadership to ensure Dubai’s continued welfare and prosperity. These guiding principles will ensure Dubai’s continued progress and help build on achievements aligned to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.” added Al Basti.

"Planning for the future is something Dubai and the UAE have inherited from our nation’s founders and the future of mobility for people and goods is part of that effort. Our investment in smart digital technology has made our country a global leader. At DP World, we are already using technologies such as Hyperloop to move people and freight across continents at the speed of flight. Our customers have a need for speed, to cut costs with real time transparency. I have great faith that, in this age of innovation, we have the tools to deliver solutions. Today, we gather as much data in 48 hours as we have gathered over centuries, which enables us to turn knowledge into action that helps us deliver cargo to its destination faster than ever before,” said HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World.