Latest / DEWA Podcasts / DEWA develops automated smart system to enhance electricity network management efficiency
Transcript
- 0:00Less than one minute. Think about that for a
- 0:02second. That is the total time the average customer
- 0:06is without power for an entire year. 0 .94 minutes,
- 0:10to be exact. It's a staggering statistic. It
- 0:13really is. Today, we're looking at the system
- 0:15that makes a number like that even possible.
- 0:17We're doing a deep dive into the article. Dubai
- 0:20Electricity and Water Authority develops automated
- 0:23smart system to enhance electricity network management
- 0:26efficiency. And we really have to understand
- 0:28the engine behind that number. We're talking
- 0:30about the launch of the automatic smart grid
- 0:33restoration system by Dubai Electricity and Water
- 0:36Authority. OK, but let's be honest. Smart grid
- 0:39is a term we hear all the time. Is this really
- 0:42something new? Or is it just a fancy software
- 0:45update? No, it's a fundamental shift. It really
- 0:48is. Think of it more like a nervous system for
- 0:50the power grid. A nervous system. Yes. Usually
- 0:53a utility waits for a customer to report an outage
- 0:56or for a manual alarm to go off. The system,
- 0:58it sort of feels the break in the network and
- 1:01starts rerouting power before a human even knows
- 1:03there's a problem. So it's the first of its kind
- 1:05in the region then? It is. So instead of a team
- 1:07in a truck driving around trying to find a fault,
- 1:10the grind is essentially healing itself. Instantly.
- 1:14And the whole mission here is to take human intervention
- 1:16out of the equation as much as possible. Exactly.
- 1:19It's about speed, but it's also about precision.
- 1:21Dubai Electricity and Water Authority designed
- 1:24it to monitor, detect and restore all automatically.
- 1:28That level of automation? Well, that has to come
- 1:31from the very top. It's a huge strategic decision.
- 1:33It is, absolutely. And to get the full scope
- 1:36of their ambition, you really need to hear the
- 1:38perspective from their leadership. His Excellency
- 1:41Saeed Mohammed Altair, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity
- 1:44and Water Authority, he laid it out very clearly.
- 1:48What did he have to say? His Excellency Saeed
- 1:50Mohammed Altaire, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity
- 1:54and Water Authority, said, At Dubai Electricity
- 1:56and Water Authority, we continue to deploy advanced
- 1:59smart technologies to enhance the reliability
- 2:02of the electricity network and improve the efficiency
- 2:04of services provided to customers. The automatic
- 2:07smart grid restoration system reflects our commitment
- 2:10to innovation and sustainability as it enables
- 2:13rapid response to faults, ensuring service continuity
- 2:16in line with the highest global standards. Dubai
- 2:18Electricity and Water Authority customers enjoy
- 2:21the lowest customer minutes lost worldwide at
- 2:24just 0 .94 minutes per year. This achievement
- 2:27reflects Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's
- 2:30leadership in digital transformation and its
- 2:32continued support for Dubai's objectives to build
- 2:35smart and sustainable infrastructure and enhance
- 2:37quality of life through reliable and rapid services
- 2:39that meet customers' expectations. You mentioned
- 2:41that number again, 0 .94 minutes. It's just it's
- 2:44the mic drop moment, isn't it? It really is.
- 2:46But OK, aside from preventing major outages,
- 2:48what about the more mundane stuff, the day -to
- 2:51-day administrative tasks? It handles that, too.
- 2:54And this is where it really impacts the average.
- 2:56average person. The system uses full automation
- 2:59for specific scenarios. For instance, say you
- 3:02miss a payment and your service gets disconnected.
- 3:04Right. A nightmare scenario for anyone. Of course.
- 3:07But with this system, the moment your payment
- 3:09goes through, the service can be reconnected
- 3:12automatically. Instantly. No waiting for an engineer
- 3:14to come out. No waiting at all. It just happens.
- 3:17Well, that's incredibly convenient. And I guess
- 3:19that connects directly to the other big number
- 3:21in this report. The 98 .9%. Yes, the 98 .9 %
- 3:25score Dubai Electricity and Water Authority got
- 3:28on the Dubai Government Instant Happiness Index
- 3:31in 2025. That's a massive score. It is, but it
- 3:36makes perfect sense, doesn't it? People are happiest
- 3:39with their utility provider when they don't have
- 3:41to think about them, when the lights just stay
- 3:43on and any issue is resolved before you even
- 3:45notice it. It's a glimpse into where all infrastructure
- 3:47is headed, I think, moving beyond just keeping
- 3:50the lights on and toward, well, total grid autonomy.
- 3:53They're setting a new baseline, a new global
- 3:56standard. And when Dubai Electricity and Water
- 3:59Authority sets benchmarks like 0 .94 customer
- 4:02minutes lost, it raises a really provocative
- 4:06question for everyone else. If one city's energy
- 4:09grid can run with this level of hyper efficiency
- 4:12with almost zero downtime, what does that demand
- 4:15from the future of smart cities all over the
- 4:17world? The bar has definitely been raised. It
- 4:19certainly has. Something to think about the next
- 4:21time you flip a switch. Thanks for listening
- 4:23to this Deem dive.