DEWA highlights efforts to make Dubai the happiest city on earth

Government

DEWA highlights efforts to make Dubai the happiest city on earth

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) participated in a plenary session entitled UAE Smart Cities Outlook, at the Government Summit 2015, which is being held under the patronage and in the presence of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Al Tayer highlighted DEWAs efforts to achieve the Smart Dubai initiative, launched by His Highness, to make Dubai the happiest city on earth, which provides the most efficient and seamless experience and is the safest place for residents and visitors.

HE Falah Al Ahbabi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, and HE Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, also participated in the plenary session.

According to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, a smart city is a city that makes people happy, makes their lives easier, and improves living standards. It is efficient in using its resources and provides seamless and integrated services. A smart city is a place for creative and empowered people who live in a cohesive society, works within a sustainable and competitive economic system, and adopts global standards using the latest technologies and creative innovations. His Highness launched the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the happiest city on earth. Technological creativity and innovation is a key enabler that ensures a stimulating and creative environment for the optimal use of available resources in smart cities. It creates a social communications system, and an efficient and an easy-to-use infrastructure for services, such as transportation, communications, electricity, water, and educational services, said Al Tayer, explaining about smart services.

It is no secret that many countries across the world suffer from scarcity of water and energy resources. They are essential for people to live, and are the basis for economic and social development. One of the prospects of smart cities is to provide energy and water for everyone, focus on renewable energy, enhance energy efficiency, and reduce impact on the environment. People are the cornerstone of a smart city. They are its main tool for continuous development, creativity, and innovation. Their efficiency is the backbone for growth and development of these cities. Talking about the possibilities for smart and sustainable cities stems from the vision of our wise leadership to develop their foundations based on renewable energy, sustainability, green economy, and the need for innovation. Smart cities need all of these to make its inhabitants happier. One of the key elements of smart cities is the close cooperation of all stakeholders, including urban developers, water, electricity, communications, transportation, educational, and healthcare service providers, and other government and private organisations. We shouldnt focus solely on the infrastructure as the main element in the urban planning process. Smart cities have to include high-quality knowledge communications, social infrastructure, and tools for leaders of future smart cities to analyse data, monitor expectations and unexpected circumstances and respond accordingly, take appropriate decisions, and find efficient and effective solutions, while optimising resources, added Al Tayer.

One of the main foundations for the transition into smart cities is to develop a leadership vision, turn it into a plan, and measure its progress. Other elements include safety, seamlessness, awareness, and the impact to create a happy life for the people. The success of smart transition requires a stimulating and efficient environment that attracts investments, has efficient connections, and integrated urban planning, creative people since we must have people with the right skills, creativity and competencies to manage the smart transition to ensure we supply the future requirements of smart cities, technological innovation must be harnessed to serve the people and make them happy, governance, seamlessness and transparency in providing information enables decision-makers to review the available options and take effective, quick decisions that achieve the objectives for a smart city, energy-source diversification and sustainability is one of the main foundations in the transition towards a smart and sustainable city. All these elements are needed to be comprehensively integrated to successfully transform into a smart city and give smart and sustainable results, said Al Tayer, talking about the key foundations required to build or transform cities into smart ones.

The UAE is a pioneer in its initiatives, whether in energy and sustainability, or technology. The leadership is committed to harnessing all resources to serve people and contribute to the smart transformation to achieve their happiness in all aspects and achieve a better standard of living. The UAE has all the elements to reach top positions globally. It has become a global leading hub in sustainability, competitiveness, and green economy to achieve the UAE Vision 2021, and the long-term Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to develop a green economy for the UAE. Our objective in the transition to become the smartest city in the world is clear: it is to achieve the happiness of society and provide instant and seamless smart services anytime, anywhere. Our experience in implementing the smart grid strategy is unique because it is fully-integrated, when compared with the rest of the world, said Al Tayer, talking about transforming Abu Dhabi and Dubai into the worlds smartest cities.

When asked about why technology is not always the only solution to transform cities into smart ones, the lessons learned in selecting and adopting IT infrastructure at the city level, and what its impact on the standards of living of citizens and residents are, Al Tayer replied, Technology is a key element for transforming cities into smart ones. Used effectively and efficiently, technological innovation promotes a happy lifestyle for citizens and residents. It makes the smart city the favourite place to live and work. A smart city attracts investments, becomes a tourist attraction, and becomes a global role model. DEWA has been building sustainable systems that adopt technological innovation to improve the efficiency of its electricity and water infrastructure according to the highest international standards, which helps create an advanced competitive economy. For example, we have managed to increase efficiency of energy generation by 22% between 2006 and 2014, using the latest technologies and adopting technological innovations. DEWA has surpassed leading European and American companies by reducing losses in power transmission and distribution networks to 3.4%, compared to 6-7% in Europe and the USA. Water network losses decreased to 9%, compared to 15% in North America, achieving leading global results in reducing water losses. DEWAs results are among the best internationally for customer minutes lost per year. DEWAs figures reached 4.9 minutes in 2014, compared to 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union.

Besides technology, people who are creative and empowered are the cornerstone of the transformation into a smart city. Other factors include governance, sustainable environmental awareness, and providing seamless information within integrated and interconnected smart applications that reach the people anytime, anywhere. For example, our plan for Dubai in terms of smart grids will be both integrated and unique.

DEWA has developed the smart grid strategy: a key component of a smart city. We have developed plans and programmes for demand side management, energy efficiency and operational improvement under the smart grid strategy. These programmes include advanced metering infrastructure, asset management, demand-side management, distribution automation, information technology infrastructure, substation automation, system integration, telecommunications, and efficiency, reliability, and availability of energy supplies, he added.

One of the most important factors for the success of smart cities is the seamlessness and availability of round-the-clock integrated and connected services that meet daily living requirements. In 2009, DEWA started its smart transformation. It was the first government organisation to achieve a 100% smart transformation, less than a year after the Smart Dubai initiative was announced. Adoption of smart services was 60% last year. DEWAs smart app, which was launched in 2010, provides over 150 services and features that makes life easier for everyone, including people with special needs by enabling them to complete their transactions anytime, anywhere, noted Al Tayer.

When asked what are smart services are essential to improve quality of life in cities, and the key challenges in providing smart services at the city level, Al Tayer said, In Dubai, we are used to transforming challenges into opportunities for success. We have lots of opportunities that have become promising projects that support our development and achieve the aspirations of our wise government. Some of these opportunities are related to one of the key components of smart cities, which is the smart grid. Dubai is building smart grids in their broad and integrated scope. It is the first network in the world that covers generation, transmission, and distribution systems, up to the customer. It uses state-of-art communication technologies such as Radio Frequency, WiMax, Fibre Optics, and BPLC. The smart grid includes demand-side management, asset management, distribution automation, substation automation, system integration, and smart meters. This will significantly improve living standards in Dubai. Involving all stakeholders and customers as DEWA partners in dealing with smart grids, and providing our services through them to save time, effort, and resources will make people happier. The ongoing efforts to spread awareness and educate people have increased smart service adoption to over 60%. This means that almost two thirds of DEWAs customers complete their transactions through smart channels. We have transformed all our services into smart services in record time.

Future cities are different from traditional cities in their indicators, performance, and efficiency. Smart cities will undoubtedly contribute to enhancing the economic competitiveness of the country. Availability and seamlessness of services contribute to efficiency of service delivery and doing business. This has a positive impact on improving living standards and attracting investments and capital, establishing Dubais position as a global hub for trade, finance, tourism and green economy, enhancing its competitiveness and pushing forward development. For example, diversifying the energy mix and ensuring its sustainability is one of the key foundations in the transition towards a smart and sustainable city. This includes renewable energy sources and implementing energy side management programmes in smart cities, which contribute to a diversified and sustainable economy in the smart city. The energy demand side programme is set to reduce energy demand by 30% by 2030. The present value of costs for these strategic projects will be approximately AED 30 billion, while present value of savings will be about AED 82 billion, a net present value of AED 52 billion, achieving positive economic returns. The UAE, represented by DEWA, moved from 10th position in 2011, to 7th in 2013 and then jumped to 4th position globally and 1st in the Middle East and North Africa in 2014 and 2015 in getting electricity, according to the World Banks Doing Business Report. Now, we aim to reach the first place globally, said Al Tayer, talking about how future cities will enhance economic competitiveness and increase the growth of countries.

Discussing his plans for the city of the future and how this has progressed, Al Tayer said, We have a vision for the future city, and a clear commitment to the directives of our leadership. We have made clear progress and we intend to make Dubai the smartest city in the world within 3 years. The city of the future is smart, integrated, connected and uses its resources sustainably, enjoys sustainable economic growth, its inhabitants are educated, cultured, healthy, and live in an inclusive and cohesive society. It is proactive and creative in meeting the needs of individuals and society, which in total, makes people happier, is a sustainable city that efficiently uses its resources, provides seamless integrated services, is safe to live in, and is a unique experience for living and business. This commitment is not limited to the next few years but goes beyond that to the future, since smart cities are the future and sustainable. Innovation and creativity are the basis for its sustainability. Here, I recall an article by His Highness entitled Innovate or Stagnate, which has shown us that achieving todays vision will stimulate us to achieve a more ambitious, advanced and innovative vision.