DEWA Welcomes Ethiopian Leadership Delegation to Share Global Expertise
Dubai's premier utility authority hosts visiting executives within the UAE Government Experience Exchange Programme, demonstrating the emirate's commitment to fostering international partnerships and knowledge transfer across energy and sustainability sectors.
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has received a distinguished delegation from Ethiopia’s Executive Leadership Training Programme at its headquarters, Al Shera’a, in a visit that exemplifies the UAE’s dedication to strengthening governmental partnerships and cultivating international leadership capabilities.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DEWA, welcomed the visiting executives as part of the broader UAE Government Experience Exchange Programme. The initiative seeks to nurture cooperation and facilitate the sharing of expertise and knowledge across all sectors, fostering collaborative relationships between nations.
Throughout their visit, the delegation gained comprehensive insight into DEWA’s renowned practices and transformative initiatives, encompassing electricity generation, water provision, sustainability advancement, technological innovation, digital transformation and excellence in customer service. The visitors were introduced to the organisation’s sophisticated approaches to governance, corporate excellence and the sophisticated management of major infrastructure projects.
Al Tayer emphasised that the hosting of this international delegation reflects considerable confidence in DEWA’s pioneering capabilities and demonstrates the UAE’s resolute commitment to strengthening governmental partnerships and nurturing leadership development. He noted that the exchange of knowledge represents a fundamental cornerstone of sustainable development and forms the foundation for enhanced collaborative government action.
DEWA has established itself as a global benchmark for excellence, consistently demonstrating exceptional performance across multiple indicators. The authority ranks first worldwide across 13 key performance indicators, substantially outperforming major utilities throughout the European Union and the United States. Dubai’s exceptional operational efficiency is reflected in its world’s lowest customer minutes lost figure of 0.82 minutes annually in 2025, significantly surpassing the approximately 15 minutes recorded by major European electricity utilities. Electricity transmission and distribution losses remain remarkably low at 2 percent, substantially below the global average of 6 to 7 percent, whilst water network losses stand at 4.4 percent compared to approximately 15 percent across North America.
The delegation learned of DEWA’s transformative major projects, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site installation, which is anticipated to exceed 8,000 megawatts by 2030. The solar park’s fourth phase has secured four Guinness World Records, including the world’s tallest concentrated solar power tower at 263.126 metres, the largest thermal energy storage capacity at 5,907 megawatt-hours, and the largest single-operator concentrated solar power plant at 700 megawatts. The delegation was further introduced to the groundbreaking 250-megawatt Hatta Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant, the first project of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council, featuring an energy storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours.
The visiting executives were briefed on DEWA’s pioneering achievements in artificial intelligence and digitalisation, alongside recognition of the organisation’s prestigious global awards spanning multiple sectors, particularly in intellectual property and patents. This visit underscores Dubai and the UAE’s distinguished position as a global hub for disseminating best practices in energy, water, sustainability and digital transformation.
Source: WAM