Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | DEWA receives International Risk Management Award CIR

In recognition of its leadership in business continuity and corporate resilience, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has received the International Risk Management Award from Continuity, Insurance & Risk (CIR).

“This award demonstrates the important role of risk management, resilience, and business continuity in realising DEWA’s vision to become a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation. It also supports DEWA’s efforts to implement the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to anticipate the future and be prepared for rapid changes. DEWA operates a rigorous risk and resilience system, bolstering its resilience by anticipating risks and preparing for change, to ensure business continuity. We also adapt our work environment and operations to support national strategies and goals, and deliver uninterrupted supplies of reliable electricity and water services to over 900,000 customers in Dubai,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.

“DEWA is the Middle East's first organisation to implement the SAP Risk Management 10.1. DEWA has also received the Business Continuity Management System (ISO 22301) for its integrated operations and is the first utility in the Middle East and North Africa to do so. DEWA is working with the British Standards Institute to develop the first Publicly Available Standard (PAS) to document risk and resilience practices for the electricity and water utility sectors. The new standard is a key pillar in developing risk and resilience standards and addressing some of the gaps in existing standards and practices. PAS 60518:2020 will be the first global standard of its kind and will act a global reference for the electricity and water utilities sector, harmonising risk and resilience practices to ensure that utilities are better equipped to deal with an ever-increasing risk landscape. PAS 60518:2020 will be launched in January 2020,” added Al Tayer.

“DEWA’s efforts have also contributed to global benchmarks. In a new achievement, the UAE, represented by DEWA, maintained its first global ranking for the third year running for Getting Electricity in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report. DEWA achieved 100% in all four criteria, including the reliability and transparency of tariffs indicator. DEWA achieved very competitive results in global benchmarking. It achieved the lowest customer minutes lost per year (CML) in the world of 2.39 minutes, compared to 15 minutes in Europe,” noted Al Tayer.

“This award shows DEWA’s leading progress in all aspects of risk and resilience. At DEWA, we ensure its strategic planning and execution process is one of the most robust in the world, combining innovation and proven methodologies, including proactive communication of strategy to its employees and key external stakeholders,” said Khawla Al Meheiri, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Government Communications at DEWA.

This is the second award won by DEWA from CIR. On behalf of HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Abdulrahman Abdulla Aljamea, Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Risk and Resilience, received the award at the 10th CIR Risk Management awards ceremony at the London Marriott hotel in Grovesnor Square, London. The first was for International Business Continuity in June 2019. DEWA has won both awards on first-time application.