Dubai - MENA Herald: The UAE, represented by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has been ranked 1st in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and 4th globally in getting electricity, for the third consecutive year, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2016 report, which measures doing business in 189 countries around the world. The UAE has made this achievement despite expanding the focus of the indicator sets in the report to be more comprehensive.
“The ranking of the UAE as the first in the Middle East and North Africa and fourth globally, adds to the UAE’s roster of achievements and top positions in different fields, and underlines its competitiveness and excellence compared to many developed countries around the world. At DEWA, we adhere to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to improve government services, make our citizens and residents happier, and more satisfied with our services. Our aim is to contribute to the excellence of the UAE and enhance its competitiveness to achieve the UAE Vision 2021,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA,
“The status the UAE has reached globally is the result of the concerted efforts of local and federal work teams. We all work to achieve a single goal, which is the development of our country and the happiness of its people. This contributes to achieving the UAE Vision 2021 for the UAE to become one of the best countries in the world when we celebrate the golden jubilee of the Union. As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum once observed, “Working as a team, everybody takes part in building the UAE,”” added Al Tayer.
Al Tayer noted that DEWA has kept its position as the first in MENA and 4th globally even though the Doing Business 2016 report has broadened the scope of getting electricity indicators to offer a more complete view of the electricity sector. The report has added a new indicator to assess the reliability of electricity supply, which is important for business activities, by measuring both the duration and the frequency of power outages experienced by a customer in a year.
DEWA’s results are among the best internationally. DEWA’s customer minutes lost per year in 2014 was 4.9 minutes, compared to 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union. DEWA has achieved several milestones globally, surpassing major European and American companies in different areas. For example, losses in power transmission and distribution networks decreased to 3.26%, compared to 6-7% in Europe and the USA. Water network losses decreased to 9.1%, compared to 15% in North America.
