The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced a collaboration with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to set up the world’s first Publicly Available Standard (PAS) standard to support best utility risk management practices for the electricity and water sector.
DEWA said the new standard is a “key pillar in advancing risk management standards and addressing any problems, constraints or gaps in existing global standards and practices”.
The move, part of DEWA’s efforts to consolidate its global positioning and achieve its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, comes just over a year after the Authority participated in an international workshop in London aimed at harmonising the new standard by bringing together major utilities in America and Europe to gain consensus on the effectiveness of the specified standards.
Speaking on the partnership, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of DEWA, said he expected the new standard to be completed and applied amongst utilities globally by September 2019.
“Setting the new PAS standard for risk management in the electricity and water sector is in line with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai," he added.
“It aims to achieve the highest standards of quality and excellence, and strengthen DEWA’s position as a global leader and one of the best utilities for electricity and water sectors in the world.”
HE Al Tayer added: “This is the newest addition to DEWA’s track record of initiatives and achievements that aims to upgrade the services of the electricity and water sectors around the world; especially in the risk management field, which is constantly increasing due to massive technological developments and a rapid progression of smart transformation.”
The partnership announcement came a month after DEWA revealed its plans to build 91 stations and substations in the emirate over the next three years, in a programme expected to cost $3.1bn (AED11.4bn).
