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Dubai power demand up 3.3% at 6,857MW in 2013

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, or Dewa, recorded a 3.3 per cent rise in power demand in 2013 as its customer base climbed 4.4 per cent to 652,200.

The utility, which currently has 9,656MW of power capacity and 470 million imperial gallons per day of water capacity, said its peak load grew to 6,857MW in 2013 from 6,637MW in 2012, and that the system requirements for electricity reached 37,478 gigawatts per hour in 2013 compared to 36,299GWh in 2012 — a growth of 3.24 per cent. Peak demand for water reached 296 million gallons per day compared to 285 million in 2012 — an increase of 3.85 per cent, the Dewa said in a statement. Water consumers increased by 4.4 per cent to 580,678 from 554,985 during the same period.

The Dewa is focused on achieving Dubai’s Integrated Energy Strategy 2030. — Supplied photo

The Dewa, which is focused on achieving Dubai’s Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 that seeks to reduce power and water consumption by 30 per cent by 2030, said water storage capacity increased by 20 per cent to 707 million gallons by the end of 2013, compared to 587 million gallons in 2012.

As part of the strategy, the authority seeks to diversify its energy mix so that 71 per cent will come from natural gas, 12 per cent from nuclear energy, 12 per cent from clean coal and five per cent from solar energy.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the Dewa’s managing director and chief executive officer, said 2013 saw several accomplishments, including the inauguration of the M-Station, the UAE’s largest power and water desalination plant that has the production capacity of 2,060MW of electricity and 140 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day. This followed the opening of the Dewa’s Sustainable Building in Al Quoz, the largest government building in the world with a platinum rating for green buildings from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

In another strong accomplishment, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated in October the first project of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which uses photovoltaic technology. “Shaikh Mohammed also launched the second project, which will build a 100MW plant. This has raised the Dewa’s total production capacity to 9,656MW of electricity and 470 million imperial gallons of desalinated water per day,” said Al Tayer.

He said the Dewa recorded a series of impressive achievements in 2013 based on its vision to become a sustainable world-class utility.

Al Tayer pointed out that the Dewa had introduced 150 new smartphone features and services to enhance the living standards of Dubai’s residents and contribute to their happiness. The Dewa won the Best Government Electronic Gate Award and Best Smartphone Application Award at the GCC eGovernment Award ceremony, and the award for Best Government Service via Mobile Phone at the Hamdan bin Mohammed Award for Smart Government.

In 2013, the number of 400kV substations reached 19 last year, while the number of 132kV main substations reached 194 compared to 184 in 2012. More than 58km of 132kV underground cables and 30km of 33kV cables were laid out last year. The combined length of the network’s 132kV cables is now 1,544km, said Al Tayer. The Dewa laid 40km of 1,200mm pipeline water distribution networks and five kilometres of 900mm pipeline networks in 2013, he said.

The utility reduced the losses in electricity transmission and distribution networks to just 3.46 per cent compared to six to seven per cent in Europe and the US.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com