DEWA installs over 2 million electricity and water smart meters

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), announced that DEWA has installed more than 2 million electricity and water smart meters in Dubai. This is part of DEWA’s efforts to develop a state-of-the-art digital infrastructure according to the highest international standards. Smart meters increase efficiency and reduce consumption, as well as enable customers to monitor their consumption anytime and anywhere. DEWA has also started operating the Smart Meters Analysis and Diagnosis Centre, where smart meters are read and monitored remotely every 15 minutes.

“In line with the directives of the wise leadership, we work at DEWA to provide an advanced infrastructure for facility and services management through smart and connected systems that use Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI); Blockchain; Internet of Things (IoT) and others. We have an integrated strategy for smart grids with investments up to AED 7 billion that will be completed in the short, medium, and long-term until 2035.  The strategy includes different programmes such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure for Electricity, Advanced Metering Infrastructure for Water, Asset Management, and Big Data, among others.

DEWA launched the ‘Smart Applications through Smart Meters and Grids’ initiative to support the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world. In addition to their role in smart transformation, operational efficiency and reducing water losses, smart meters provide many benefits to customers and help them monitor, manage, and control their consumption proactively and digitally without the need to contact DEWA. This contributes to reducing consumption and sustainability of resources,” said Al Tayer.

Abdullah Obaidullah, Executive Vice President of Water and Civil at DEWA, said that DEWA’s state-of-the-art infrastructure for smart meters helped detect 503,161 water leakages; 16,103 defects; and 7,974 increase load cases in the past three years. This saved customers a total of AED 324 million. Obaidullah noted that the High Water Usage Alert service, which is part of the Smart Living initiative, helps customers detect leakage in water connections after the meter. The system sends instant notifications to the customer if there is an unusual increase in consumption to check the internal connections and repair any leaks. This reduces waste as well as incurred costs for customers.

Rashid Bin Humaidan, Executive Vice President of Distribution Power at DEWA, said that smart meters are the backbone of the smart grid. They are designed according to the highest technical standards. The smart meter sends wireless signals to different receivers across Dubai. DEWA has a secure and automated infrastructure to manage meters data and embed them with DEWA’s billing system. Automating meter readings helps customers receive instant information on their consumption patterns and effectively manage it to conserve consumption and protect natural resources.

Smart meters help customers benefit from the Smart Living initiative launched by DEWA. This year, the initiative received the Hamdan bin Mohammed Program for Government Services Flag 2020. It helps customers monitor their consumption independently, simply by logging into their DEWA accounts on the website or smart app, check their data dashboard to monitor consumption, know more about residential customer tariff slabs, get conservation tips, and develop their conservation plans. Customers also benefit from the ‘My Sustainable Living’ programme, which has a positive impact on customers who can compare their consumption with similar homes. Customers can also make use of ‘DEWA Store’ offers to purchase energy and water-saving devices.