Dubai, UAE: According to a press communiqué in the Dubai Media Office website, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has plans to build 97 new 132/11 kilovolt (kV) substations over the next three years — at a projected cost of AED 10 billion to meet — growing demand for energy in Dubai. The new substations, the communiqué said, will be located at Hassyan, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and other locations to support the expansion of other power plants in Jebel Ali and Al Aweer.

“We are inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to plan for the development of the infrastructure required to meet increasing electricity and water demand in the Emirate,” said H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA. “Up until the end of last year, DEWA established a total of 222 132/11kV main substations, 16 of which were commissioned in 2016 at a total cost of AED 2 billion. DEWA pledges to continue its efforts to support Dubai and the UAE, to achieve excellence and first place in all its operations. This reflects DEWA’s position at the forefront of the international community, reducing losses in power transmission and distribution networks to 3.3%, compared to 6—7% recorded in Europe and the USA,” said Al Tayer.

Al Tayer further said that the utility’s total production capacity had reached 10,000 megawatts (MW) in 2016, while its peak load was 7,982MW, compared to 7,696MW in 2015. He further mentioned that DEWA had assigned a total budget of AED 65 billion over the next five years to meet energy demands in the future.