POWERING EVERY ACTIVITY IN DUBAI

■ A royal decree created Dewa through the merger of Dubai Electricity Co and Dubai Water Department. Both entities were in existence since 1959.

■ Dewa now serves more than a million customers in Dubai on a 24x7 basis through its network of substations and mega desalination plants.

■ The M-Station in Jebel Ali is the largest power and water desalination plant in the UAE. The total cost of its build up along with an extension crossed Dh11.66 billion. It has a current production capacity of 2,885 megawatts (MW) and 140 million gallons of desalinated water per day.

Power projects

■ The Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park launched in 2012 will by 2030 be the world’s biggest single-site solar-powered project in the world. It will have a capacity of 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030, with a total investment of Dh50 billion.

■ Dewa’s Hassyan Clean Coal Power Plant based on the IPP model will have a total coalfired capacity of 2,400 MW. The power station will be fully-operational by 2023.

Electric vehicles

■ Dewa is co-opting the emirate’s residents to join in on the push towards green energy and sustainable use of resources. It has built a network of EV charging stations and more will follow.

■ The Green Charger initiative sets up an infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations.

Smart Dubai Initiative

■ There are also three ‘smart initiatives’ to support the Smart Dubai initiative. Shams Dubai encourages building owners to install photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to generate electricity. The electricity generated is used inside the premises and the surplus is exported to Dewa’s grid.

■ This encourages the use of renewable energy, increases its share in the energy mix, and diversifies energy sources. The Smart Applications and Meters initiative contributes to fast-service connection and rationalising energy use.