Revealed: Dubai consumers save Dh1.2 billion in 10 years from conserving water, electricity, thanks to Dewa's conservation efforts
Latest data show how much money saved by households, businesses from conserving energy
Dubai: Residents in Dubai have been using less water and electricity over the last several years even though the population has been growing.
The number of people living in the emirate has approximately doubled from 1.7 million in 2009 to 3.1 million in 2018, yet the amount of energy consumed during the period has actually eased.
According to the latest official figures, consumers in Dubai, including businesses and entities in the government and private sectors, were able to save Dh1.2 billion in water and electricity consumption over the last decade, or roughly Dh120 million a year in utility bills.
And this is thanks to the conservation programmes and initiatives launched by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
The government agency reported that between 2009 and 2018, cumulative energy savings registered by all customers, from residential, commercial, industrial to industrial, educational and government sectors, reached two terrawatthours (TWh) of electricity and 7.4 billion gallons of water.
The amount of water saved is equivalent to filling up 13,000 Olympic swimming pools or annual water consumption of 241,000 apartments. Electricity savings are also equivalent to the yearly consumption of 305,000 apartments.
“Dewa’s conservation programmes that it launches throughout the year, include a number of innovative awareness initiatives and activities that target all customer sectors, said Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.
“The aim is to ensure that rational consumption of resources becomes part of the social culture and a daily practice, to encourage society members to adopt a conscious and responsible lifestyle.”
Over the past decade, energy savings in the residential sector reached 68 gigawatthours (GWh) of electricity (18 per cent) and 500 million gallons of water (27 per cent).
Private companies or those in the commercial sector saw electricity consumption cut by 1.2 TWh (10 per cent) and water by 4.3 billion gallons (28 per cent).
The industrial sector achieved savings of 112 GWh of electricity (15 per cent) and 211 million gallons of water (29 per cent).
The government and semi-government organisations achieved savings of 426 GWh of electricity (12 per cent) and one billion gallons of water (21 per cent). Educational institutions achieved savings of 213 GWh of electricity (10 per cent) and 1.3 billion gallons of water (24 per cent).
These savings have contributed to reducing one million tonnes of carbon emissions equivalent to planting 1.2 million trees and the consumption of 122 million LED lights.