Dubai increases power and water capacity

19 January 2012

Power capacity up by 18.4 per cent and water capacity up by 21.1 per cent

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has increased its installed power generation capacity by 18.4 per cent and its water capacity by 21.2 per cent in 2011.

Dewa has recorded an increase in its power generating capacity to 8,718MW from 7,361MW in 2010. Desalinated water capacity increased from 330 million gallons a day (g/d) in 2010 to 400 million g/d in 2011.

In terms of power produced, “[Dewa has] now reached 34,606 gigawatts per hour (GWh), with an increase of 2.6 per cent in comparison with 33,742GWh in 2010”, according to Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of Dewa.

The expanded capacity will bolster the emirate’s reserve capacity. Dubai’s electricity supply/demand buffer has remained at a healthy level for several years as a result of a capacity expansion drive starting in 2005. In 2005, the difference between installed power generating capacity and peak demand was just 262MW.

The story is similar for water. In 2006, Dubai had only 225 million g.d of water capacity and 218 million g/d peak demand. It embarked on an ambitious capacity building programme and in 2009 the difference between supply and demand stood at 59 million g/d.

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