Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised an international excellence forum bringing together prominent experts and specialists in energy, water, and human resources. This is part of DEWA’s strategy to promote excellence among its staff and employees of other government organisations and stakeholders. Many officials from the UAE and abroad took part in the forum.

DEWA’s International Excellence Forum, which was held virtually under the theme ‘Operational Excellence and Crisis Management – Post COVID-19 and lessons learnt’ discussed three main topics: Role of Business Agility, Business Continuity & Organisational Resilience in Disruptive Times and the New Norm; Water Efficiency & Water Network Management – Best Practices in Water Loss Reduction and Control; and Human Capital Management Before & After COVID-19.

In his opening speech, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said that DEWA is organising this forum virtually due to the circumstances imposed by Covid-19. He emphasised that the UAE has proved that it is capable of keeping pace with rapid developments and dealing with all circumstances efficiently and competently.

“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said, “Challenges and obstacles are not the end of the road, but a pathway to new and creative solutions.” At DEWA, we are guided by the vision and directives of the wise leadership in all our initiatives and programmes. We have proven our resilience and agility in handling different circumstances and developments, and succeeded in turning challenges into opportunities as a result of robust strategic planning, which is a key component of DEWA’s Integrated Management System. Thanks to its human resources and robust infrastructure, DEWA has ensured business continuity to provide continuous electricity and water services to more than a million customers in Dubai, according to the highest international levels. DEWA has developed a comprehensive strategy to combat all stages of the pandemic, by making use of the lessons learnt to reformulate the traditional concepts of work mechanisms and rearrange priorities, especially with regards to the safety of our people,” said Al Tayer.

Al Tayer noted that DEWA has a clear direction for the energy sector at this stage with a priority to use clean energy in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050; expand the use of digitisation, smart grids, Artificial Intelligence, and the different tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as enhancing cyber-security in the energy and water sectors; and ensure the continuation of 100% availability of DEWA’s services according to the highest levels of availability, reliability, and efficiency thanks to DEWA’s state-of-the-art infrastructure and advanced technologies. This is based on innovation and sound scientific planning to contribute to making the UAE the world’s leading nation by its centennial in 2071. DEWA also pays great attention to the management of water resources in terms of continually working to reduce water losses. DEWA works to ensure that the UAE maintains its position among the best countries in reducing water losses.

The list of speakers included: Carmine Marcello CEO of Hetherington Kearney Group; Emanual Da Rosa, Vice President of EWPB; Rob Quail, Principal at Robert Quail Consulting; Dr. Jarrah Mahmood Al Zu’bi, Sr. Manager- Excellence DEWA; Bambos Charalambous, Director at Hydrocontrol; Stuart Hamilton, MD of Hydrotec; Roland Liemberger, Advisor at NRW Management Advisor; Lynn Doleman, Founder & MD of ROC Human Resources; Tanya Bateman, Head of HR & Business Partner at Kantar; and Thanj Kugananthan- Founder & Consultant at Visible HR Consultancy.

DEWA’s adoption of excellence standards consolidated its position as one of the best utilities around the world, surpassing an array of European and American companies over the past years. It has reduced losses in electricity transmission and distribution networks to 3.2%, compared to 6-7% recorded in Europe and the USA. Water network losses decreased to 6.6%, compared to around 15% in North America. DEWA achieved a new world record in electricity Customer Minutes Lost (CML) per year. DEWA recorded 1.86 minutes, compared to around 15 minutes recorded by leading electricity companies in the European Union. The UAE, represented by DEWA, has maintained its first global ranking, for the third consecutive year, with scores of 100% in all Getting Electricity indicators in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report. The report measures the ease of doing business in 190 economies around the world.