Dewa records 300-fold increase in power capacity

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) power capacity has increased from 43 megawatts (MW) in 1970 to 13,417 MW in 2021, a 300-fold increase.

Its water production capacity increased from zero to 490 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD). Originally, there were no desalination stations as Dubai only had groundwater wells.

Dewa's total production capacity is now 13,417MW, including 1,527MW of renewable energy using photovoltaic solar panels from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, he said. The Solar Park will have a production capacity of 5,000MW by 2030.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, said that the company considers the environment in all stages of its work. Hassyan Power Complex and the Jebel Ali Power Plant and Water Desalination Complex are key pillars for supplying Dubai with high-quality electricity and water services. Dewa's water production capacity is now 490 MIGD, including 63 million gallons using Reverse Osmosis.

In 2021, the electricity network losses in the Emirate were around 3.3 per cent compared to 6-7 per cent in Europe and the US. The water network loss was 5.3 per cent compared to around 15 per cent in North America. Dewa increased fuel efficiency in production units up to 90 per cent, one of the best percentages worldwide. Dewa recorded the lowest Customer Minutes Lost (CML) in the world at 1.43 CML in 2021, compared to about 15 minutes in leading utilities in the EU.