Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has organised a ceremony to honour its partners and stakeholders who contributed to the success of the Green Charger initiative. DEWA launched the Green Charger to support the Smart Dubai initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world.

At the ceremony, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, honoured a number partners and stakeholders who have supported the Green Charger initiative. These included HE Saif Al Falasi, Group CEO of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), HE Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, HE Dr Aisha Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office, Major General Anas Al Abdulrahman Al Matrooshi, Director of the General Department of Transport and Rescue at Dubai Police, Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director of Emaar Properties, Dr Amina Al Rustamani, Group CEO of TECOM, Nasser Abu Shehab, CEO of the Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA’s) Strategy and Corporate Governance Sector, and Brigadier Ahmed Obaid Al Sayegh, Assistant Director-General of Fire and Rescue at the Directorate-General of Civil Defence in Dubai. Al Tayer also honoured representatives from Dubai Municipality, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dubai Airports, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, DP World, Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Holding, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, Seven Tides, The Sustainable City, Renault Middle East, and Green Parking.

DEWA launched the Green Charger initiative in April 2014, to install and manage the required infrastructure to charge electric vehicles. The move contributes to DEWA’s efforts to reduce air pollution and protect the environment from the impact of the transport sector in the Emirate. This year, the Green Charger initiative won the Best New Government Service award in the Hamdan bin Mohammed Award for Smart Government 2016.

In his opening speech, Al Tayer welcomed DEWA’s partners and stakeholders, who were major contributors to the success of the initiative.

“I would like to welcome you all to this ceremony, organised and hosted by DEWA, to honour the partners and stakeholders of the Green Charger initiative. This adheres to the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which highlights the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors, to make major leaps forward in our efforts to achieve the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda, and the Dubai Plan 2021, which forms the roadmap for ambitious initiatives and development projects, to provide the best international services, adopt best practices based on international standards, and achieve the happiness of all people,” said Al Tayer.

“Our strategy is inspired by the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who said that, in order to support innovation, there must be effective cooperation and participation between society and the public and private sectors, which is thereby essential for the development and growth of various sectors. On this occasion, I would like to thank all of you, and all of our partners, who have played a major role in supporting our efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to enhance Dubai’s position as the city with the lowest carbon fingerprint worldwide, and the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2021. We would also like to thank you for your efforts to support the Green Charger initiative, launched by DEWA to support the Smart Dubai initiative. The Smart Dubai initiative was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make Dubai the smartest and happiest city in the world,” added Al Tayer.

“The Green Charger initiative has become a role model. Our vision is to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility based on achieving availability, reliability, efficiency and sustainability. This vision will result in the connection of renewable energy resources to the grid and supports the introduction of electric vehicles. In turn, this will lead to a greener and cleaner environment, better energy and water conservation, improved demand side management and a more efficient management of infrastructure investments and grid operations. The development of the smart grid strategy is a key step in the implementation of the DRRG (Distributed Renewable Resources Generators) programme, demand shift and reduction, energy efficiency and operational improvement. All these will contribute to our sustainable growth by reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. This will help Dubai to become the smartest and happiest city in the world. Dubai has all the capabilities to reach first place globally and has already become a leading global hub for sustainability, benchmarking, and green economy,” said Al Tayer.

“The new Dubai Green Mobility Initiative Committee, reporting to the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, was formed with an Executive and a Technical Committee in charge of achieving the Committee’s set targets to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases in Dubai within the next four years. Reductions are expected to continue in the near future in Dubai. Dubai Supreme Council of Energy strives to increase the use of hybrid and electric cars in Dubai, and implemented directive number 1 of 2016 to ensure that, between 2016 and 2020, at least 10% of all new vehicles purchased are either electric or hybrid vehicles. This is to achieve the target for 2% of all vehicles to be electric or hybrid vehicles in Dubai by 2020 and 10% by 2030. We are proud to be the first government organisation to add high-performance electric cars to its fleet. This move supports Dubai’s ambition to achieve a 10% increase in the total number of hybrid and electric cars in use by 2030. DEWA is the first public utility to make this ambition a reality,” added Al Tayer.

“I would like to reiterate that you are all contributors to the Dubai Green Mobility Initiative, to enhance the use of electric and hybrid cars. This helps to reduce carbon emissions within the transport sector, which is the second-highest gas-emission producing sector in Dubai. The initiative aims to establish a market for electric and hybrid vehicles in the Emirate, while widening the market and further encouraging their use. Through our cooperation, we have achieved remarkable accomplishments. We successfully installed 100 electric vehicle charging stations in 2015 across Dubai, in locations such as shopping malls, airports, commercial offices, residential complexes, petrol stations, government offices, and residential establishments, as part of the Green Charger initiative. We aim to install more electric vehicle charging stations according based on how many vehicles need them, as well as the use of existing electric vehicle charging stations in Dubai, and how applications we receive to install electric vehicle charging stations in residential areas across Dubai. We are glad to continue our cooperation, to complete the third stage, which includes adding the final touches to the infrastructure and vehicle charging stations in several locations across Dubai,” said Al Tayer.

“These achievements have helped enhance the market for hybrid and electric vehicles, attracted more electric and hybrid car manufacturers, and will encourage all citizens and residents to make use of environmentally-friendly vehicles. We recognise that more and more people are attracted to the concept of using a cost-efficient, clean car that preserves a clean and sustainable environment. These achievements would not have been a reality without your efforts, and the efforts of DEWA’s employees, who are the backbone of our success. Our engineering staff helped in the installation of different types of charging stations, contributing to the initiative’s implementation by using the latest techniques from the international electric car industry,” concluded Al Tayer.

DEWA is setting up different types of charging stations, including fast-charging stations that take 20-40 minutes, and are installed at petrol stations. These stations have 3 different plugs, one with a capacity of 48 kilowatts (kW) for Alternating Current (AC), CHAdeMO plugs, and Combo plugs with a capacity of 50kW of Direct Current (DC). Medium-charging stations take 2-4 hours and will be installed at shopping malls, parks, and Dubai Government customer service centres. The stations feature two plugs, each with a capacity of 22kW. Wall-charging stations will also be installed with a capacity of 22kW, and will take 2-4 hours to charge.

DEWA collaborates with its key stakeholders and signs Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with pioneering organisations to support the Green Charger initiative. These include car dealers, national airports, shopping malls, petrol stations, Dubai Municipality, RTA, hotels, and owners and operators of parking lots in Dubai.

Electric vehicle owners can visit any of DEWA’s customer service centres to register for and collect the Green Charger card. To do this, they must bring their Emirates ID cards, driver licences and vehicle registration documents. Customers will receive their Green Charger bills by email, which they can settle using any of DEWA’s payment channels.

Charging stations have been installed at DEWA’s centres, including DEWA’s head office, the Sustainable Building, Al Wasl, Hudaiba, Burj Nahar, Umm Ramool, and Jebel Ali. These stations have been installed and are ready for use. DEWA works closely with major developers and government organisations to decide the most suitable locations to install Green Chargers across Dubai.

The rate per kilowatt hour (kW/h) for charging an electric vehicle in public charging points is 29 fils per kW/h. If the vehicle is charged at home, the standard residential electricity rate will be applied. DEWA has registered the first individual user for the Green Charger stations.