Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has extended the bid submission deadline for the contract to provide supervisory services for an electrical interconnection project between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The client has extended the deadline to 4 July to allow consultants more time to work on proposals. The original bid submission date was 13 June.

In 2013, the UAE government announced plans to integrate the grids of the four authorities – Dewa, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, formerly known as Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea), Sharjah Water & Electricity Authority (Sewa) and Federal Electricity & Water Authority (Fewa) – responsible for supplying electricity across the seven emirates as part of the Emirates National Grid (ENG) initiative.

The federal government stated that the ENG would mean financial savings resulting from the reduction in installed reserve capacity across the individual utility systems. It will also enable the commercial transfer of electricity between the power authorities.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai are also planning to establish a water connection between the two emirates.

In August last year, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for strategic water connections between the two emirates and the exchange of potable water in emergencies.

In a statement, Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, said that agreement was part of the strategic objectives of the UAE federal government, and in line with the recommendations of the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036.

Al-Tayer said that Adwea (now the Department of Energy) and Dewa started to study possible options for a water interconnection between the two emirates in 2007. Under the terms of the MoU, Dewa and the Department of Energy will carry out a feasibility study and agree on a consultancy services tender, which will be let to the market.