Dubai, UAE, 27 March 2015

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has received in his office, Michael Burke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the American company AECOM who headed a delegation that included Riad Nashif, Executive Vice President for the Middle East and Managing Director for UAE and Oman, and Hamed Zaghw, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for Middle East.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources, and Khawla Al Mehairi, Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications at DEWA.

Al Tayer welcomed the delegation and briefed them on DEWA's work, activities, progress, and service development. He emphasised DEWA's commitment to strengthening cooperation and coordination with energy companies for mutual benefit.

Al Tayer provided an overview of DEWA's projects and initiatives to achieve the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. He briefed the visitors on some of DEWA's mega projects, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Hassyan clean-coal power plant, the smart grid project, the expansion of the power and water desalination plant at M-Station, and other strategic projects and initiatives DEWA is implementing.

DEWA is operating the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, one of the largest strategic renewable energy projects in the world. It is based on the independent power producer (IPP) model, with a planned total capacity of 1,000MW by 2019 and 3,000MW by 2030. The 13MW first phase became operational in 2013, with the 200MW second phase operational by 2017. The Solar Park includes a Research and Development Centre (R&D), a solar-testing facility, an Innovation Centre, a University, and a training centre.

"DEWA has been a role model for performance, efficiency, productivity, and excellence in providing electricity and water services with the highest levels of reliability and availability that compete with the highest global standards. DEWA seeks to diversify the energy mix and increase dependence on renewable energy. The Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 set the target for renewable energy at 1% by 2020 and 5% by 2030 but DEWA increased this percentage to 7% by 2020 and 15% by 2030," said Al Tayer said.

Al Tayer noted that investments in the energy sector are approximately AED 56 billion for the next five years in enhancing production of electricity, water, renewable energy, smart grids, and their transmission and distribution networks. The investments cover several projects, including the infrastructure costs for the Expo 2020 preparations, estimated at AED 2.6 billion.

"DEWA has achieved outstanding results in efficiency and reliability that surpass even the private sector. DEWA increased efficiency of energy generation by 22% between 2006 and 2014, using the latest technologies and adopting technological innovations. DEWA has surpassed leading European and American companies by reducing losses in power transmission and distribution networks to 3.26%, compared to 6-7% in Europe and the USA. Water network losses decreased to 9%, compared to 15% in North America, achieving leading global results in reducing water losses. DEWA's results are among the best internationally for customer minutes lost per year. DEWA's figures reached 4.9 minutes, compared to 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union," added Al Tayer.

Al Tayer highlighted DEWA's three smart initiatives, which support the Smart Dubai initiative. Through the first initiative, called Shams Dubai, DEWA connects solar energy to houses and buildings to encourage households and building owners to install photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to generate electricity. The PV solar system will be connected to DEWA's grid. This encourages the use of renewable energy and increases its share in the energy mix. The second initiative includes smart applications that use smart meters and grids. The third initiative is to create the infrastructure and charging stations for electric vehicles, to reduce air pollution and protect the environment from transport emissions. Last month, DEWA launched the first charging station at its head office. In the first phase, 16 charging stations will be installed throughout the Emirate. Al Tayer discussed the available initiatives and investment opportunities that DEWA's projects provide. The AECOM delegation expressed its interest in taking part in DEWA's projects.

The delegation reviewed the activities of AECOM, which is based in Los Angeles, USA, and provides its services in over 140 countries. It is a world leader in providing technical and advisory services and administrative support in various areas, such as transport, buildings and construction, urban planning, the environment, energy and water management, and government projects. AECOM is listed on the Fortune 500 list. It has been ranked first in design worldwide.

The delegation thanked Al Tayer for the warm reception and the opportunity to learn more about DEWA's activities and projects.

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:

Ribal Dayekh or Noora Khoory  
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority       
+9714 515 1784     
ribal.dayekh@dewa.gov.ae     
noora.khoory@dewa.gov.ae

Mutasem Shadid or Mazen Alebrahem
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
+9714 450 7675/450 7613
mutasem.shadid@bm.com
Mazen.Alebrahem@bm.com

© Press Release 2015