Dewa saves Dh40 million through water, power saving programme

DUBAI — “We have saved Dh40 million by reducing consumption of water and electricity in government institutions. This strategy of conservation of natural resources has always been there all along. However, we keep on renewing the programmes designed to carry out that strategy,” stated Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, CEO and Managing Director of Dubai Electricty and Water Authority (Dewa).

By Mary Nammour

Published: Sun 19 Aug 2007, 8:52 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 1:56 AM

As part of its strategic plan to reduce the wastage of natural resources in Dubai, Dewa has been implementing a full-fledged programme of saving of energy and water at mosques in Dubai.

“We want to establish a firm strategy of saving of water and electricity at all levels and with all kinds of consumers,” he said, pointing out that in 2006, the consumption cost of water and electricity in mosques reached nearly Dh34 million.

Considering this high rate of consumption, Dewa has set a comprehensive programme of consumption reduction in cooperation with The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Services Department. Many technical programmes have hence been implemented contributing to a great extent to saving of power and water.

“Many mosques have replaced the low quality lighting systems with energy-saving lamps. Dewa has offered nearly 1,000 energy-saving lamps as gift to the Islamic Affairs Department. The Awqaf Department has also followed suit and replaced the low-quality lighting apparatus with ones that have high quality,” Al Tayer added,

According to him, air-conditioning systems at mosques account for about 70 per cent of the overall power consumption by mosques in the summer. “That’s why Dewa, in cooperation with the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Services Department, has installed modern energy-saving air-conditioning systems,” he added.

“People who work in the mosques were also trained on keeping a constant and close eye on the air-conditioning systems. Technicians from both Dewa and the Islamic Affairs Department were also told to read the electricity meters to keep track of the consumption daily, weekly and monthly,” he said.

Conserving water was also part of Dewa’s concerns. “We have replaced the ordinary taps with water-saving taps in more than 30 mosques across Dubai. Consumption of water was reduced by nearly 40 per cent. The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Services Department has instructed other mosques on using such taps in a way leading to conserve big quantities of water.”