Dewa CEO assures 'no shortage'

With the Water, Energy Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex) coming up this week, Conrad Egbert caught up with Dewa managing director and CEO HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer to find out what Dubai can expect over the next few months.

You said earlier this year that Dewa plans to raise water and electricity supply by the end of this year. How are you planning to do this?
Yes we have taken new units. New units are coming so the supply definitely will increase now. I believe for February, power has already been increased by 13% compared to last year.

Are you planning on signing any contracts this year?
Obviously, we won’t be signing as many as we did last year but that does not mean that we won’t be carrying on with most of the work that has been planned this year. In fact we plan to sign two major contracts at Wetex this week. Dewa has deferred some of the expansion projects and will review these projects in September this year.

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FEATURED COMMENT I find it difficult to believe anything that Mr Al Tayer says these days as his credibility was ruined by all the misinf   1 Comments Read more comments »

Do you think the crises will affect your future plans?
No not at all. We will be announcing details about the loan of US $544 million (AED2 billion) this week. It’s in the process of getting approved so we don’t expect any problems with financing this year.

Can you shed some more light on this loan?
We will announce it this week. It is under the process and we are planning to announce complete details including who the participating banks are.

Are district cooling and the environment still a focus for Dewa during this time?
Yes, absolutely. There are new initiatives that we plan to come out with, in support of the environment, next week.

There are a few projects in Business Bay and the Tecom area that are still running on generators with many frustrated contractors and developers. What is being done about this?
This problem has nothing to do with Dewa. This is an issue that needs to be sorted out between the developer of those properties, and the customers.

Dewa provides the power there. How they use it and distribute it is between them. There is no shortage I can assure you. We have sufficient supply of water and power but there are internal problems between the developer and the other parties. In fact if you look at February, there has been an increase of 13% in energy.

An increase in supply you mean?
In consumption yes, there has been an increase.

And what about supply?
If consumption has increased, then supply has increased.

What is your message to people about conservation of water here?
My message to everyone is to conserve energy and protect the environment.
 

Previously from dewa

Dewa is the latest Dubai government entity to refinance existing debt with the help of the loan market.

Al Tayer said that Dewa has sufficient reserves to meet all the requirements of the emirate.

According to Dewa, it currently has a power output capacity of 6676MW while the peak load is 5287MW and a surplus of 1389MW, which exceeds 26% of electricity required during peak demand.

Dewa said earlier in March that it would press ahead with a US $20 billion (AED72.5 billion) investment programme to boost power and water output capacity.

Al Tayer said the utility company, which had already spent $4.2 billion on projects that had come on line over the past two years, was on track to invest a further $15 billion on projects that were underway.

Dewa launched the five-year $20 billion capital spending plan in 2007 to support the emirate’s growing demand for power and water.

According to Al Tayer, work on major projects for production, transmission and distribution of electricity and water were progressing in line with Dubai’s Strategic Plan.