Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | DEWA showcases projects to JAFZA companies

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), and MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), reviewed during a seminar held to discuss investments opportunities and possible partnerships with companies based in the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA), and to review various initiatives to establish future partnerships in the energy sector, in the attendance of HE Salma bin Hareb, CEO of Economic Zones World and JAFZA. A number of companies operating within JAFZA were present to shed light on projects and expansion plans, as well as various activities to improve productivity and operational processes in order to reach the highest levels of efficiency and reliability. The meeting was also attended by Dr Yousef Al Akraf, EVP of HR and Business Support; Dawood Khaled, Senior Manager of Commercial; Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communications; and Arif Jelfar, Media and Marketing Manager. The meeting reflects the strategic cooperation between JAFZA and DEWA to enhance cooperation and partnership between various departments, institutions, and governing bodies in the Emirate of Dubai, and the important role JAFZA is playing in developing various sectors of Dubai’s economy. DEWA has also invited JAFZA companies in the upcoming Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2014), which will be held on 14-16 April 2014 at the Dubai international Convention and Exhibition Centre, in conjunction with the World Green Economy Summit 2014, the first-of-its-kind in the region. “We at the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority are working unconditionally to achieve the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote Dubai’s position as a regional and global hub for economy, finance, and tourism. Led by its vision as a Sustainable World-Class Utility, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority work in accordance with an integrated system of projects, activities, and expansion plans, at various levels and tracks through practical initiatives and procedures allowing them to reach the highest levels of efficiency and reliability. In this context, DEWA achieved outstanding results, where various development and improvement operations were added to production and functional operations with the purpose of enhancing efficiency and minimising costs. The number of DEWA’s 400 kV substations increased to 18, and 132 kV main substations increased to 184. Apart from this, the number of 11 kV and 6.6 kV power transformers increased to 26,756, while the total length of 11 kV and 6.6 kV medium voltage cables reached 24,942 km,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA. “DEWA strives to achieve the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of a ‘Green Economy’ and is working to increase the contribution of renewable sources of energy as outlined by the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030. We are working to secure Dubai’s power requirements by 2030 by using four sources: Gas (71%); clean coal and nuclear energy (24%); and solar energy (5%). At the beginning of this year, we inaugurated DEWA’s sustainable building which is considered as the first UAE sustainable government building and the first government building in the world to obtain the platinum rating of Green buildings, achieving 98 points on a scale of 110 points according the US Green Building Council LEED. The building saves 66% of energy consumption by using solar power production station with a capacity of 660 Kw, and reduces water consumption by 48%. It was built on 340,000 sq. ft, with a total cost of AED 75 million. The first phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park project is about to be completed. This will contribute to developing the technology used in generating electricity by solar energy with a planned capacity of 13 Megawatt by the use of photovoltaics, then connecting it to the main DEWA grid in the second phase. The total production capacity for this project is expected to reach 1,000 Mw, with a total cost of AED 12 billion, In a leading and pioneering step to use a mix of the new sources to generate power, we have invited for a consultancy services tender to establish Hassyan Independent Station to generate power by using clean coal technologies. Production capacity of the first phase of the project will be around 1200 Megawatt, which will be commissioned by 2020 at a production capacity of 600Megawatt; while the second phase will be completed by the summer of 2021, with the same capacity. We are also working on increasing the production capacity of the water and electricity generation plant (M Station), which already has a current capacity of 140 million IGPD of desalinated water on a daily basis, and 2060 Megawatt at the cost of around 1.2 billion dirhams in order to increase the production capacity of the station by 400 Megawatt, while enhancing the thermal efficiency to 90%. In terms of water, the first phase of DEWA’s hydrogeology report is in progress, where an international consultancy firm was hired to determine existing ground water aquifers through an integrated scientific study that examines the possibility of storing drinking water in naturally-occurring underground spaces. By injecting water into the aquifers, the supply could be used at a later date to extract water when there is increased demand within the network especially in the case of emergency,” added Al Tayer. “In the field of power and water generation efficiency, DEWA has improved its efficiency by 26% in 2012 compared to 2006, while it has also increased its production capacity by 450 Megawatt without using any extra fuel or expanding into a new production plant, while reducing the total cost by AED 1.4 billion, as a result of enhancing mutual cooperation with Dubai Aluminum (Dubal). We have also achieved a reduction in cost in the period 2010 – 2012 by AED 131 million. In terms of demand, which comprises various tracks, including outreach and providing customers with conservation culture and helping them to reduce and conserve their consumption through technical inspection on their locations and connections, a total of AED 411 million in cost was saved as a result to this approach, as DEWA has implemented an integrated set of criteria and procedures to reduce water and power consumption and included even our offices, where a number of procedures are been followed to reduce electricity and water consumption such as turning off lights outside working hours; increasing AC temperature to 24°; and replacing light bulbs with eco-friendly LED lights. This resulted a fantastic reduction of operational costs exceeded AED 6.6 million annually. We are also working on improving infrastructure of smart grids and communication that will form the first and basic pillar in building smart cities, on which services of electricity, water, communication and other services are based. I can say that we have made great strides,; however we still have a lot of opportunities to explore. In line with the initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ‘Smart Government’ aiming to provide government services on mobile phones and smart phones, DEWA has made significant progress in its efforts to transform from e-Government to Smart Government, by adopting the latest technologies that have contributed to enhancing service efficiencies and achieve customer satisfaction. DEWA has been providing its e-services through its website and smart phones applications since 2010 to make it easy for its customers to reach the smart services. With the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance of the U.A.E, and President of DEWA, the exhibition has achieved a huge success, and has proved itself on the world map as one of the most important leading specialized exhibitions in the world, and this success wouldn’t have been achieved without the cooperation and sincere efforts of our UAE partners. That’s why we target JAFZA companies to invite them to participate in this international initiative,” concluded Al Tayer.