Dubai: Emirates Central Cooling Corporation, or Empower, is targeting a 60 per cent increase in its customer base to 16,000 this year, compared to 10,000 in 2009, its chief executive said yesterday.
This will make Empower the largest district cooling service provider in the region by number of customers. The company provides district cooling services to several projects including Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Business Bay and City of Arabia.
Outreach strategy
"Empower has succeeded in boosting the demand for district cooling services through a well-rounded community outreach strategy. We have spread the message that this new technology delivers optimal results not only to customers but also to society at a socio-economic level by reducing electricity and water consumption and conserving the environment," chief executive Ahmad Bin Shafar said in a statement.
"Clear evidence of the success of our strategy is the growth we have achieved in the number of customers whom we consider our partners regardless of the size of their adoption of our services."
Empower provides air-conditioning services using water cooled in central plants and distributed through a network of piping systems to individual buildings. Thanks to a joint venture between the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Tecom Investments, Empower has work stations being built at various locations in Dubai.
"After 12 years of being adopted commercially, district cooling services providers in the UAE, with Empower topping the list, have developed a world-class district cooling infrastructure and network. With the latest equipment and solutions, the company has worked on enhancing the awareness of society to the importance of this technology in saving the operating and maintenance costs and its user friendliness and high level of conservation of the environment," the company said in a statement.
Operational savings in a residential unit compared with conventional air-conditioning technologies ranges between 40 and 45 per cent.
District cooling requires lower capital and operating costs, thus reducing air-conditioning set-up and energy costs per building. This is encouraging more customers to demand the service, the company said.
