Dubai's peak electricity demand hits eight-year high

The rise in power load indicates economic expansion and potential for growth in the emirate, Dewa's managing director says

Saeed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa. The utility has an installed capacity of 11,700MW of electricity and 470 million imperial gallons of water per day. Chris Whiteoak / The Show more

Dubai's peak electricity demand increased by 6.6 per cent on annual basis to its highest level in eight years, signifying economic growth in the emirate and a potential for further expansion, according to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.

The demand rose to 9,074 megawatts, Saeed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa, said.

“This increase in the peak load is a testimony to the boost of social and economic activities in Dubai,” said Mr Al Tayer.

Dewa has an installed capacity of 11,700MW of electricity and 470 million imperial gallons of water per day.

The Barakah nuclear energy plant – the Arab world’s first nuclear power station – was successfully connected to the UAE electricity grid a few days ago.

The UAE is diversifying its energy mix and turning to renewable and nuclear energy as it looks to free up hydrocarbons for export markets and generate up to 44 per cent of its energy from clean sources by 2050.

Mr Al Tayer said the Dubai utility is continuously working to enhance its electricity generation and water production capacity and the efficiency of its transmission and distribution grids to keep pace with the emirate's urban and economic expansion.

He also said that Dewa had “surpassed similar top utilities in Europe and America in terms of efficiency and reliability”.

Mr Al Tayer said the utility had reduced its losses in electricity transmission and distribution networks to 3.2 per cent, compared with losses of 6 per cent to 7 per cent in Europe and the US.

Water network losses decreased to 6.6 per cent, compared with 15 per cent in North America, he said.

Dewa also set a new world record in the number of electricity customer minutes lost per year.

The utility recorded 1.86 minutes in Dubai, compared with about 15 minutes for leading electricity companies in the EU, he said.