Dubai - MENA Herald: Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has approved a total budget of AED 23.655 billion for 2016, compared to AED 22.873 billion in 2015. The new budget ensures a reliable supply of electricity and water to meet Dubai’s development plans in all its operations, in alignment with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The budget will enable DEWA to adopt the best and latest clean energy technologies across all its operations to maintain its leading position nationally and internationally, by providing electricity and water at the highest levels of reliability, efficiency, safety, and sustainability. In addition, DEWA has also launched strategic projects worth over AED 27 billion that use the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model to leverage Public Private Partnerships and build new capacity in renewable energy and diversify the Emirate’s energy mix in the long-term.
"This budget for 2016 is aligned to the directives of our visionary leadership, and will meet all the requirements of DEWA’s projects, operational facilities, ambitious initiatives in electricity and water, and all smart grid projects and services that will contribute to supporting DEWA’s service delivery, smoothly, easily and efficiently, to all Dubai’s customers,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.
“DEWA has assigned part of the budget to support our leadership's drive to promote initiatives in smart services to make Dubai the happiest city in the world, in line with the Smart Dubai initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA is one of the leading government departments in terms of adopting and launching smart initiatives and services, and it achieved a 100% smart transformation of its services in 2014, through various applications and channels, to reach its customers smoothly and easily in accordance with a crystal-clear strategy implementing state-of-the-art technologies and developments in terms of smart governments and cities.”
"DEWA has also assigned a large part of the budget to clean-energy-related projects in support of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy. This will make Dubai’s carbon footprint the lowest in the world. Most prominent of these projects is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park and the Shams Dubai project to encourage building owners to install photovoltaic panels to generate electricity from solar energy and connect it to DEWA’s grid. DEWA has also budgeted for research and development, and research and innovation in renewable energy. All these will promote sustainable development in the UAE,” added Al Tayer.
“The sum of AED 8.72 billion will be allocated to capital expenditure and projects, compared with AED 8.028 billion in 2015. The 2016 budget includes a number of key projects, including AED 2.957 billion in generation, AED 3.416 billion in power transmission, AED 1.209 billion in power distribution, and AED 1.042 billion in water and civil, in addition to other amounts totalling AED 95 million,” said Al Tayer.
“Other projects include building 9 new 132kV substations at a cost of AED 775 million. AED 1.544 billion has been allocated to the extension of 256 km of 132kV cables, and other power transmission and distribution projects and smart communication networks.”
“To increase water storage capacity at DEWA, AED 245 million will be budgeted to build two water reservoirs at Al Nakhly, and a further AED 50 million to build a water pumping station on the Dubai-Al Ain road, as well as other water transmission and distribution projects,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA's operational budget for 2016 is AED 14.165 billion compared with AED 13.465 billion in 2015, while the administrative capital budget is AED 770 million.”
“DEWA’s budget is aligned to the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021, which sets a roadmap, including ambitious initiatives and development projects that combine economic and commercial growth with clean energy and sustainable environment, all of which will make Dubai a smart, sustainable and integrated city that ensures resources sustainability, energy efficiency, and green innovation, for generations to come,” concluded Al Tayer.
