Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) has been created to replace Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Company (Adwec), and to pave the way for the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (Fewa) to join the company and unify water production and power generation across Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates.

Abu Dhabi’s export of electricity and water to the northern emirates has grown in recent years as demand for utilities has increased, but no new capacity has come online. While Fewa has launched plans for major desalination and power projects in the past couple of years, it will remain reliant on imports from Abu Dhabi for the foreseeable future.

But the move to unify the production of utilities is not just about the growing requirement for imports in the northern emirates. It will also enable more effective long-term planning across the sector. In addition to contributing to a stable grid, it will allow fuel to be used more efficiently and reduce costs.

Long-term planning for future power and water assets will become increasingly relevant as Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates seek to decouple the production of water from power generation assets.

The timing of the establishment of Ewec should not be surprising, given that first power from the federal Baraka nuclear power plant is expected to come online by 2020. Both the UAE’s utilities sector and regulatory bodies have called for federal planning for power and water production in recent years.

While the Ministry of Energy oversees the electricity and water sectors on a federal level, the production and planning of utilities have remained almost exclusively under the control of the individual emirates.