Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said it has become the first government organisation in the country to connect its database to the Atmatah automation system launched by the UAE Ministry of Energy.

The federal database in the UAE’s energy sector provides government organisations with direct access to the Ministry of Energy, to collect information and data related to energy from energy producers and users.

Connecting to Atmatah is one of the ways Dewa is supporting the transformation into smart cities of the future in the UAE, to achieve people’s happiness while encouraging sustainable resources and integrating services, said a top official.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and chief executive, said all of Dewa's operations are completely automated using the latest systems and international practices, and its database is connected to the Ministry of Energy’s automation system, adopting the principles of information and data exchange.

"Establishing national plans, policies, and programmes, depends largely on availability, accuracy, and quality of statistics related to energy generation and use. In smart cities, all stakeholders will benefit and cooperate, including water, electricity, communications, transportation, education, and healthcare service providers, and other government and private organisations," he stated.
 
According to him, Dewa’s smart grid strategy contains 11 programmes that will be completed over the short, medium and long term, from 2014 to 2035.

These are the advanced metering infrastructure for electricity and water, asset management, demand response, distribution automation, information technology infrastructure, substation automation, system integration, telecommunications, big data and analytics, and security.

"We will also make use of the big data generated by smart meters and grids to further enhance the availability, efficiency and reliability of our services. This will, in turn, be used to enhance operational efficiency in our generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and water, so we can serve our customers better, and drive research and development (R&D) by identifying opportunities for future improvements within our sector," explained Al Tayer.

"Big data will not only provide up-to-date information about electricity and water consumption by Dubai’s citizens and residents, but it will also pave the way for the Internet of Things, which is a key component of future smart cities, to achieve the UAE Vision 2021, to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021," he added.-TradeArabia News Service