DEWA wins three awards at Smart Cities Summit and Awards 2016 during World CSR Day

Dubai, UAE, 3 March 2016: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) won three awards at the Smart Cities Summit and Awards 2016 during the World CSR Day activities in Mumbai, India. DEWA won in the Best Smart City Initiative category for their Green Charger Initiative, in addition to winning the Configuration and Deployment of Smart City Infrastructure 2016 category for its Dubai Smart Soil Initiative. DEWA also received the award for Most Powerful Smart City Leaders.

These awards reflect DEWA’s commitment to enhancing Dubai’s position in the regional and international renewable energy sectors. They also reflect DEWA’s commitment to achieving the objectives of the Smart City Initiative, launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform the Emirate into the smartest city in the world. 

“Inspired by the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, DEWA works to achieve its development goals, which support the UAE Vision 2021 and the Dubai Plan 2021. The strategic objectives of these initiatives support the long-term Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, to establish the UAE as one of the global leaders in this area, and a global hub for exporting and re-exporting green products and technologies,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

“DEWA has developed a comprehensive Smart Grid strategy and aligned its corporate strategy with the Smart Dubai initiative. DEWA is currently implementing three major initiatives: Shams Dubai, smart applications and smart meters, and Green Charger. The Green Charger initiative will substantially contribute to introducing electric vehicles to Dubai, boosting the use of energy resources and reducing the Emirate’s carbon footprint. These initiatives have contributed to DEWA winning these awards,” added Al Tayer. 

Most stations can accommodate two vehicles simultaneously. 100 stations have been installed throughout various DEWA offices, these stations are located at DEWA’s head office, DEWA’s Sustainable Building in Al Quoz, Al Wasl, Al Hudaiba, Burj Nahar, Umm Ramool, and Jebel Ali. Fast-, public-, and home-charging stations were also installed across Dubai. The Green Charger stations at DEWA’s offices operate during customer service working hours. Charging stations located at petrol stations and other public places, such as car parks, will operate around the clock.

DEWA has installed many different kinds of charging stations with the help of its engineering staff, contributing to the initiative’s implementation by using the latest techniques from the international electric car industry.

DEWA’s Water and Power Planning division, and Distribution Planning department won the Configuration and Deployment of Smart City Infrastructure 2016 category for its Dubai Smart Soil initiative. The initiative was implemented in cooperation with DEWA’s Asset Management, Transmission Line Maintenance, Projects Execution Department, and Distribution Operation Planning, and aims to create a special mix of soils that will then be used to cover medium-pressure cables, improving the soil’s resistance to heat, to better cope with Dubai’s climate, a pioneering initiative locally, regionally, and internationally. Abdullah Al Ahgbari, Vice President of Distribution Planning at DEWA, was honoured during the final ceremony of the conference. 

The Smart Cities Summit and Awards were held as part of the World Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Congress, an annual event that takes place every 18 February in Mumbai, India. The Smart Cities Awards recognise pioneering projects to make cities more liveable, sustainable and economically-viable. The awards will also recognise the most powerful smart city leaders. Businesses, entrepreneurs, research hubs, non-governmental organisations, and public and private organisations present their innovative smart city strategies to transform our cities by applying innovative technologies, energy solutions, governance, and sustainability standards.