DEWA was formed in 1992 as a result of the merger of Dubai Electric Company and Dubai Water Department both of which have been operating independently since 1959. By the end of 2004, DEWA had a total power generation capacity of 4,167.7 megawatts (including emergency stations) and desalinated water capacity of 61.48 million gallons per day. The authority served a customer base of 260,876 electricity consumers and 207,242 water consumers by end of 2004. The company has set plans to expand its power generation capacity to 9,800 megawatts and desalinated water capacity to 110 million gallons per day by 2010 through a DH20 billion ($5.4 billion) investment. DEWA is regarded as the Gulf's most profitable utility company on account of its tariff structure and large expatriate customer base.