The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has kicked off the competition for the 12th Best Consumer Award, which encourages residential customers to use energy sensibly.

The Award reflects Dewa’s efforts to encourage customers to reduce their daily use of electricity and water, and supports its strategy to reduce energy demand to preserve and sustain natural resources, a press release said.

This year, the Best Consumer Award has two categories: villas and apartments. Consumers who achieve the highest savings in electricity and water will receive cash prizes totalling Dh60,000 ($16,300) and appreciation certificates from Dewa.

In the two categories, the user who achieves the highest savings will receive grand prizes of Dh15,000 each. The second will receive Dh10,000 each and the third, Dh5,000 each. To qualify for the award, customers have to reduce their electricity and water use by at least 15 per cent from January 1 to December 31, compared to the same period in the previous year.

“Dewa attaches great importance to the rational use of energy, in its efforts to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to establish a sustainable model of energy conservation that can be exported to the whole world. Our goal is to become the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050. These efforts also support the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy to reduce energy demand by 30 per cent by 2030,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.

Amal Koshak, senior manager of marketing communications at Dewa, added: “Last year, 6,008 customers participated in the Best Consumer Award from across the emirate. They saved 3 million kilowatts per hour (KWh) of electricity and 29 million gallons of water, and 1,988 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equal to Dh2.4 million in savings.”

In addition to reducing consumption by 15 per cent, users can gain additional points that enhance their winning chances by paying their bills on time using Dewa’s website or smart app, and by making use of solar energy. This year, Dewa provides an additional opportunity for the Consumer Award participants to win the ‘Baitna Methali’ (Arabic for ‘Our Home is Ideal’) award, which honours homes that enjoy the best safety, health, and environmental criteria. –TradeArabia News Service