DEWA: Smart Grids and Sustainability in Dubai

At World Smart Grid Conference Middle East 2012 HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has inaugurated World Smart Grid Conference Middle East 2012, being held at Crown Plaza, Dubai, in the presence of a wide range of energy experts, and CEOs of organizations from the GCC and around the world. His Excellency announced that DEWA has exceeded the standards of international private sector utilities and is even better than top ten utilities in America and Europe in terms of Availability, Reliability and Efficiency. Our Network Line losses are only 3.49 percent, the Customer Minutes Lost per year are only 5.8 minutes, and DEWA’s Gross Efficiency improvement in production is 20 percent, calculated based on our readings for 2011, HE said. “In line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for sustainable development for Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai’s high-ranking status as a global hub for finance, trade and tourism ,DEWA pursues its march of great successful achievements such as; using smart grids systems in accordance with its robust strategy to manage environmental challenges and climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible; ideally, through an environmentally-friendly and secure energy supply mix, which is based on our vision to be a sustainable world class utility. In order to support The Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 that targets a 30 percent decrease in Energy consumption by 2030, we are actively focused on an integrated demand management program to raise awareness amongst the different communities of Dubai about the importance of managing their electricity and water needs in an efficient way,” added His Excellency. “This is just the start. DEWA is building on the significant achievements in our efforts to implement smart grids. We are implementing smarter solutions at almost every layer of our network, from power generation and desalination to the consumer end; thereby generating numerous benefits across each level of the value chain in the energy and water sectors. For example, we completed an initial pilot project on Smart Metering between 2005 and 2008. Based on this experience, we are now working on an Intelligent Metering System Project,” said His Excellency. The ultimate objectives of this project include upgrading and automation of DEWA’s Electricity and Water metering with interoperable communication systems, remote operation, tamper detection, max demand control and monitoring. In addition, DEWA has already implemented a number of smart technology measures on its electricity networks such as using the latest SCADA systems, intelligent asset monitoring, control and automation. DEWA has improved distribution network efficiency by converting the 6.6 kV network to the more efficient 11kV network resulting in a significant reduction in electricity network losses. “DEWA is now working on a Smart Grid strategy to identify breakthrough opportunities and challenges through the integration of its Smart Grid applications and initiatives. Nonetheless, we understand that utilities are still facing additional barriers: such as the needs to change consumer behavior, ensure cost-effectiveness, and to overcome financial constraints, perceived infrastructure complexity, and necessary advances in technologies. The interconnectivity of smart electricity and water technologies and participation of various types of domestic, commercial and industrial users in the smart grid network also shows the need for governance and security. Policies, regulations and international technical standards are still being formulated and updated continuously. Cyber security and risk management strategies for the prevention, detection and effective response and recovery are also still under development. Yet with all the challenges we face, future Smart Grids will take the power and water infrastructure to an advanced new level of control and management, which will present new opportunities for technological advances. For example, Smart transportation technology – in the form of Electric Vehicles and Plug-In-Hybrid Vehicles – will play an important role in future Smart Grids and this will require clear grid integration strategies,” concluded His Excellency.