UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a new decree for the establishment of Emirates Water and Electricity Company as a public shareholding company replacing the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (Adwec), according to a report.

Ewec, which will be under the umbrella of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, will pave the way for the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) to join the new company, with the objective of unifying water production and power generation efforts in Abu Dhabi and the emirates that are currently served by Fewa, said the state news agency Wam.

The establishment of Ewec comes following recommendations by the UAE Government annual meetings, held in Abu Dhabi on November 27 and 28, to build effective partnerships across the country’s vital sectors, stated the report.

Teams, representing federal and local entities, gathered to focus on developing government work, discuss current and future challenges, and come up with national initiatives and effective recommendations to take government work further, towards achieving UAE Vision 2021.

Work is currently under way to finalise bilateral integration agreements between Ewec and Fewa, and once this gets done, the two entities will work towards unifying water production and power generation.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi has been appointed chairman of the new company which will be based in Abu Dhabi.

As per the agreement, Ewec will handle purchasing, selling, planning, organising and managing supply and demand and trade of production capacity for water and electricity in Abu Dhabi and the majority of the country’s emirates.

The new company will provide water production and power generation services in accordance with the highest standards of transparency, reliability and competitive costing, in Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates, and it aims to enhance production capacity efficiency in the UAE, said the Wam report.

The company will be the single buyer of all power generation for water and electricity to guarantee securing the expected needs of these resources in Abu Dhabi and the emirates in which Fewa operates.

Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry and chairman of the board of directors of Fewa, said: "We are entering a new phase to unify efforts related to the production and management of demand for water and power in the UAE, and we extend our thanks and appreciation to the UAE’s wise leadership for their guidance and directives that aim to strengthen cooperation amongst our national institutions, an area which benefits the country, citizens and residents."

"The nation and its citizens are the main drivers and beneficiaries of this partnership; it will cover most of the country’s emirates and cities, providing services to a large percentage of water and electricity consumers in the UAE," stated the minister.

"This, in turn, will contribute to the company’s ability to open new avenues and opportunities for investment in this vibrant sector, enabling production management in an effective and cost-competitive manner," noted Al Mazrouei.

Department of Energy chairman Awaidha Al Marar said the energy sector had witnessed impactful transformations in recent years throughout the country, and in Abu Dhabi specifically, positioning the UAE’s capital as a distinguished international hub for developing water and power generation technologies.

"This partnership represents an ideal opportunity to benefit from Abu Dhabi’s experience and unify efforts in terms of best practice utilisation of resources and expertise on the national level to provide excellent services to the country and its citizens," stated Al Marar.

Once operational, the new company will cover the water and power needs of the majority of the UAE and would be responsible for distributing more than 80 terawatts of electricity and 1.2 billion cu m of water in the country annually.

"The new company will also oversee the progress and completion of power and water projects that are currently underway and that will contribute to a system able to supply over 1,000 million daily gallons of water and more than 25 gigawatts of electricity, once these projects are completed," he added.

Abu Dhabi Power Corporation chairman Saif Al Hajeri said: "We aim to play a dynamic role in increasing operational efficiencies across the sector in Abu Dhabi by deploying the best technologies and international best practices in this domain to offer high-standard services at competitive costs, as part of Abu Dhabi’s continuous development process."

The new partnership will pave the way for Abu Dhabi Power Corporation to take on a central role to further advance the sector on a national level, in line with the aspirations of the UAE’s leadership while meeting the needs of citizens and residents, he added.

In order to achieve its objectives, the company will rely on the latest high-operational efficiency technologies and the diversification of power sources, which includes nuclear energy, high-octane gas, solar power, and reverse osmosis techniques for water desalination, stated Alsuwaidi.

"Ewec will contribute to a key transformation in the water and power sectors in the UAE. Integration of our national institutions will have a significant impact on boosting water production and power generation efficiencies," he noted.

"Furthermore, this cooperation will open the way for further investments while continuing to advance one of the UAE’s most vital infrastructure facilities," added the Ewec chairman.