Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has launched an Automatic Smart Grid Restoration System (ASGR), the first-of-its-kind in the MENA region, to increase the control, management, and monitoring of its power network.
The system works 24×7 without any human intervention using a smart, innovative, and central system that locates the fault in the power network, isolates it, and automatically restores the service. This improves grid automation, fault detection and retrieval of connections. It also supports DEWA’s efforts to maintain supplies according to the highest standards of reliability, accountability, and efficiency.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer MD & CEO – DEWA
“The Smart Grid is an integral part of DEWA’s strategy to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure for managing facilities and services using disruptive technologies and Fourth Industrial Revolution applications. DEWA’s Smart Grid program, with investments totaling $1.9 billion, supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 percent of the energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.”
DEWA’s adoption of the latest international technologies in power generation, transmission and distribution, has made it one of the best utilities worldwide. In 2021, DEWA achieved a new world record in electricity Customer Minutes Lost (CML) per year. Dubai recorded 1.43 minutes per customer, compared to around 15 minutes by leading utility companies in the European Union.
This highlights DEWA’s ability to restore power during faults or unplanned outages. The percentage of losses in the electricity transmission and distribution networks in Dubai was 3.3 percent, compared to 6 to 7 percent in Europe and the US.
Mr. Hussain Lootah, Executive Vice President of Transmission Power at DEWA, said that the total value of DEWA’s investments in electricity transmission projects between 2021 and 2024 is $2.7 billion. This includes $544 million for 400 kV transmission projects and $2.2 billion for 132 kV projects.
