Dubai’s DEWA to invest over $10bn as energy demand rises

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• Energy demand in the emirate rose by 6.3% in Q1 and 2
• Firm provides electricity and water services to 3.5 million people
• DEWA went public on the Dubai Financial Market raising $6.1 billion 

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) plans to invest 40 billion dirhams ($10.89 billion) on capital expenditure over the next few years, just a day after it announced energy demand in the emirate rose by 6.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2022.

The firm provides electricity and water services to 3.5 million people living in Dubai. The utility is planning to invest about 16 billion dirhams in its electricity and water transmission, and distribution networks, according to the UAE state news agency WAM.

The company is also planning to spend about 12 billion dirhams to complete the Independent Power Producer projects in the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the Hassyan Power Complex and the Independent Water Producer projects at Hassyan.

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In addition, Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation, also known as Empower,, which is 70 percent owned by DEWA, plans to spend around 3 billion dirhams expanding its district cooling capacity and network.

WAM reported that demand for energy in Dubai reached 23,096 gigawatt hours during the first six months of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent.

This is likely to continue to increase as forecasts showed that the number of residents in Dubai is expected to rise to 5.8 million in 2040, with the number of active daytime population – which includes those who work in the emirate but live outside it – is expected to increase from 4.7 million to 7.8 million over the same period, WAM reported.

“DEWA will continue to invest and enhance renewables’ generation capacity, through informed plans based on the latest tools for future foresight, in order to meet the increasing demand for electricity and water,” Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA’s managing director and CEO, told WAM.

“Our plans will consolidate Dubai’s position as an advanced model that provides a favourable and supportive environment for investments,” he added.

DEWA went public on the Dubai Financial Market in April, raising $6.1 billion, making it the region’s largest listing since Saudi Aramco’s record $29.4 billion initial public offering in December 2019.

The firm’s shares rose 0.4 percent to 2.52 dirhams on Wednesday, on the back of the 40 billion dirham investment announcement.