Dubai’s electricity utility has broken its own global benchmark for power reliability, recording just 0.82 minutes — approximately 49 seconds — in Customer Minutes Lost per year, a metric that measures the average duration of unplanned outages experienced by customers.
The figure represents a 13% improvement over DEWA’s previous world record of 0.94 minutes, set in 2024, and was announced by Managing Director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.
At the core of the achievement is a regional first: the Automatic Smart Grid Restoration System, which operates without human intervention and runs continuous remote monitoring around the clock. Using intelligent centralised platforms, the system detects, isolates, and resolves faults autonomously — significantly cutting the time needed to restore power after disruptions.
The system is part of DEWA’s broader Smart Grid programme, which carries a total investment of AED 7 billion through 2035. The initiative is aimed at modernising the authority’s transmission and distribution network, reducing energy losses, and optimising load management across the grid.
Al Tayer credited the milestone to the authority’s alignment with leadership directives and its integration of emerging technologies into core operations.
“We work in line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide the best electricity and water infrastructure in the world. We utilise the latest technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly artificial intelligence, which we are fully integrating into DEWA’s strategies and operations. The smart grid is a fundamental pillar of DEWA’s strategy to deliver services according to the highest standards of availability, reliability and efficiency. This supports the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which seek to consolidate Dubai’s position among the top three global cities,” he said.
The AED 7 billion Smart Grid programme targets measurable gains in outage reduction, loss minimisation, and customer satisfaction as it continues to roll out through the next decade.
