Dewa’s corporate agility vital in overcoming COVID-19 challenges

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) maintained its work progress at 100% without recording any electricity or water interruptions for all Dubai residents over the past few months.

Dewa’s integrated plans for crisis management and business continuity have ensured that it is providing its services according to the highest standards of availability, reliability and efficiency.

Dewa is the first utility in the Middle East to receive the ISO 22301 certification for Business Continuity Management. Dewa has an approved plan to handle different emergencies amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus. It has developed plans in line with the current situation and undertaken a set of precautionary measures to protect customers, staff and all stakeholders. This supports the UAE’s efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 and ensure business continuity. Dewa’s corporate agility plays a key role in overcoming the pandemic’s challenges, in addition to its effective leadership and partnerships, strong financial resources, technological leadership and its advanced digital system.

“We work in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and manage all facilities and services through smart and connected systems that use technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), energy storage, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) among others. This supports DEWA’s vision to become a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation. The Smart Grid is a key component of DEWA’s strategy to develop an advanced infrastructure for Smart Dubai’s initiative to transform Dubai into the smartest and happiest city in the world. The Smart Grid includes programmes with investments of up to Dhs 7 billion that will be completed in the short, medium, and long-term until 2035,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

Work has carried on at all Dewa’s projects, including the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. It is the largest single-site solar park in the world using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. The capacity of the current projects at the Solar Park is 1,013 megawatts (MW). The total capacity of the five phases announced so far will reach 2,863 MW and will reach 5,000 MW by 2030. Dewa currently has an installed capacity of 11,700 MW and 470 million gallons of water per day. DEWA increased generation efficiency by 31.4% between 2006 and 2019, using state-of-the-art technologies and technological innovations. It has also achieved the highest standards in global competitiveness indicators, which includes raising the fuel efficiency of the generation units to about 90%, competing with the highest international benchmarks. In addition, the availability of the generation units reached 99.73%, while the reliability of the generation units scored 99.96%, exceeding global rates of 91%.

The electricity and water grids in Dubai are strong and flexible. They respond and adapt to different emergencies and can keep pace with rapid changes. Dewa’s procedures to protect its employees and facilities include activating comprehensive plans to enhance the safety of the community and its employees inside and outside Dewa facilities. Dewa also activated its emergency plans, which have been tested many times to ensure business continuity, so Dubai continues to have electricity and water.

Dewa uses the latest technologies in the generation, transmission, distribution, and control of electricity and water grids to maintain field operations at its power plants and water desalination units.

Dewa also maintains the operation, maintenance, lab tests, among other vital work, to ensure the continuity of providing electricity and water services for all customers. Dewa uses smart grid technologies to generate power from renewable resources such as solar and maximises energy efficiency through real-time monitoring and control systems. The Smart Grids System also allows for the reduction of loads, especially at peak times; peak shift, and the reduction of water use. Dewa also adopts rapid recovery plans, self-recovery and smart remote monitoring. It also uses AI to deal with technical notifications.

Dewa’s state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, and the training programmes staff have undergone over the last few years to use them, means they can now hold video meetings using modern technologies, while ensuring the highest standards of electronic security. This has enabled Dewa to implement a remote working system for all employees whose jobs do not require their presence at Dewa’s power and water plants.