HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) received a delegation from Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the largest electricity utility in Malaysia and one of the leading power companies in Southeast Asia. The visit supports DEWAs benchmarking programme to promote the effective exchange of expertise and experience with organisations and companies according to best international practices. This supports its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility. The Malaysian delegation was accompanied by HE Dato' Ahmad Fadil bin Shamsuddin, Consul General of Malaysia in Dubai and Neermal Shunmugam, from the Consulate General of Malaysia in Dubai.

The delegation was led by Datuk Wira Roslan Ab Rhaman, CEO of Tenaga Nasional Berhad. It included Viswanathan Subramaniam, Senior General Manager, Noorleza Abd Jalil, General Manager of Planning and Development, Roslan Mohammed Zain, General Manager of Properties, Arni Rahayu Abdul Raman, Senior Manager of Planning and Development, Ahmad Hafizul Zainan, Manager of Planning and Development, Nor Azlan Che Nazran, Special Officer to the Chief Corporate Officer, and Khairunnizam Naharudin, General Manager of the Office of the President and Chief Executive Officer.

The meeting was attended by Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Dawood Mohammed Khalid, Acting Vice President of Commercial and Business Improvement, and Ahmed Abdullah, Senior Manager of External Communications at DEWA.

Al Tayer emphasised that DEWA is committed to exchanging best practices and experiences with its partners in energy production, transmission, and distribution, research and development, and renewable energy. This helps to enhance operational excellence for partners, and stakeholders. DEWA is working to achieve the Dubai Plan 2021, to promote Dubais leading position as a global hub for trade, finance, tourism, and sustainability.

The Malaysian delegation commended DEWAs success in strengthening Dubais infrastructure according to the highest standards of environmental sustainability.

Al Tayer noted that DEWAs installed capacity is 9,656 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 470 million imperial gallons of water per day (MIGD) of desalinated water. The peak load demand for electricity is 7,233MW and 316 MIGD of desalinated water. This meets Dubais current and future needs for electricity and water, supports urban expansion, and the Emirates social and economic development.

In terms of benchmarking, DEWA has achieved outstanding results in efficiency and reliability that surpass even the private sector. DEWA increased efficiency of energy generation by 22% between 2006 and 2014, using the latest technologies and adopting technological innovations. DEWA has surpassed leading European and American companies by reducing losses in power transmission and distribution networks to 3.26%, compared to 6-7% in Europe and the USA. Water network losses decreased to 9%, compared to 15% in North America, achieving global results in reducing water losses. DEWAs results are among the best internationally for customer minutes lost per year. DEWAs figures reached 4.9 minutes, compared to 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union. The UAE, represented by DEWA, has being ranked fourth globally and first in the Middle East and North Africa for the second consecutive year for getting electricity as per the World Banks Doing Business 2015 report, said Al Tayer.

The Malaysian delegation thanked Al Tayer for the warm welcome. The Malaysian Consul General appreciated DEWAs support and its role to enhance cooperation.