(DEWA) | DEWA wins 2020 Hamdan Bin Mohammed Programme for Government Services Flag for its Smart Living initiative

Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has won the 2020 Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Government Services Flag for its Smart Living initiative, which helps customers monitor their water and electricity consumption digitally and proactively without needing to contact DEWA. This is a new milestone reinforcing its track record of accomplishments and awards.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA expressed his happiness and pride in this achievement, which shows DEWA's commitment to implementing the directives of the wise leadership who foresee and shape the future as well, while maintaining its lead in its field.

“We take pride in this new milestone, which confirms that we are on the right course to implement the pioneering method adopted by Dubai Government, and we are realising 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, to improve the customers' journey and provide futuristic services with added value. They will enrich customers’ experiences and exceed their expectations, achieve their happiness, and exceed their expectations. Winning the 2020 Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for Government Services Flag is a stepping stone towards further progress, growth and prosperity, during which we work to devise proactive solutions to the challenges of the next fifty years, in line with the Eight Principles of Governance and Government and the Fifty-Year Charter, designed to ensure the prosperity of Dubai residents, and achieve the happiness of the individual and society in conformity with an integrated system and solid foundations that contribute to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development, and make Dubai and the smartest and happiest city in the world, and make the UAE the best country in the world by its centenary in 2071,” said Al Tayer.

“I would like to thank those in charge of the Dubai Model Centre, which is affiliated with the General Secretariat of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, for their continuous efforts in improving government services and instilling a culture of continuous improvement for government initiatives to provide improved and innovative services. Moreover, we pledge to continue our efforts to provide the best services in accordance with the highest standards of reliability, efficiency and availability, and to continuously raise the readiness of our services, ensure business continuity and transform challenges into opportunities, especially in light of the exceptional circumstances caused by the emerging COVID-19 pandemic,'' added Al Tayer.

Since its inauguration by DEWA in July 2020 until January 2021, the ‘Smart Living’ initiative was leveraged by 618,913 customers, and has achieved savings up to 179.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 67.7 million gallons of water, which is equal to savings of Dh52.6 million. Smart adoption of the initiative has reached 100%, while 1.24 million digital visits have been recorded. The initiative reduced 15,643 tonnes of carbon emissions. Customer trust has increased to 92%, while their satisfaction reached 98%. The initiative has improved the productivity of employees by 27%, while service quality has reached 94%.

Marwan Bin Haidar, Executive Vice President of Innovation & the Future and DEWA Innovation Team Leader, clarified that the initiative includes a suite of awareness and incentive programs to rationalise electricity and water use, and finding solutions to any problems and constraints that increase waste or overuse. The initiative also aims to inform DEWA customers about the concepts of billing and consumption by providing clear information about bills and their main components, and elaborating the reasons that lead to higher consumption. In addition, the initiative provides digital dashboards to monitor consumption through DEWA's smart application and website, in addition to providing advice to rationalise consumption and developing proactive plans in this regard.

The initiative uses a proactive mechanism to interact with customers who have smart electricity and water meters. It enables them to monitor their consumption and get daily, monthly, and annual reports. The initiative also allows customers, through the ‘My Sustainable Living Programme,’ to compare their consumption with that of similar homes, and to benefit from the offers provided by DEWA Store, to enhance control over consumption, and use energy and water-saving devices. Via its Away Mode, the initiative allows for sending consumption details to customers’ emails on a daily or weekly basis when they activate the offer while they are away from their homes. The High Water Usage Alert, on the other hand, is part of the smart response initiative to help customers locate any possible internal water leakage. The initiative also includes the Auto-scheduling feature to make an appointment for a technical team visit with real-time updates of status, enhancing the accuracy of these appointments. DEWA has also added a Virtual Call Back feature for customers to book timings suitable to them, for DEWA’s virtual call back appointment through its online channels.