HE Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, visited Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA’s) Sustainable Building in Al Quoz and was received by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.
HE Al Mazrouei was accompanied by HE Fatima Al Foora Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Electricity, Clean Energy, and Desalinated Water, Talal Al Fulaiti, Director of the Minister's Office, and Alia Al Yasi, Director of the Government Communications Department, at the Ministry of Energy.
The meeting was also attended by Abdullah Obaidullah, Executive Vice President of Water & Civil at DEWA, Abdullah Al Hajri, Executive Vice President of Customer Services at DEWA, Marwan Bin Haidar, Chief Advisor- Innovation and The Future, and Mohammed Al Shamsi, Vice President of Civil Projects Engineering & Water Maintenance Engineering Projects at DEWA, in addition to a number of DEWA senior staff.
The visit is one of a series of visits by the Minister of Energy to local energy organisations. These enhance communications between the Ministry and its strategic partners and develop cooperation in diversifying the energy mix to achieve the sustainable development.
Al Tayer welcomed Al Mazrouei and the Ministry’s delegation. He accompanied them on a tour of DEWA’s Sustainable Building, which the largest government is building in the world to receive a Platinum Rating for green buildings. The tour included the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, that allows fast control over water networks, the Call Centre, the Nursery, the Knowledge Centre (library), the Gym, the green roofs, the Electric Vehicles Charging stations and the photovoltaic (PV) panels used to supply the building with solar power.
The visit also included the Customer Services (Customer Happiness) Centre and the smart services provided. DEWA has adopted an integrated communications system that makes use of the latest and most advanced techniques and solutions to adhere to the highest standards of communication between DEWA, its customer service team, stakeholders and partners, contractors, and developers. In 2015, DEWA’s Customer Care Centre recorded a 93.76% quality rate for taking calls, and answered phone calls within an average of 12 seconds.
HE Al Mazrouei toured DEWA’s Customer Care Centre that differs from others in the UAE and the entire region as it employs the use of two unique services. The Ash’ir (Arabic for ‘to signal’) service supports speech- and hearing-impaired customers. It is a live-video-chat service that uses sign language, and enables people with disabilities to communicate directly with DEWA’s call centre staff. The Hayak service is an online video-chat service that allows customers to communicate directly with DEWA's call centre staff. It is available on DEWA's smart app and website. DEWA is always committed to taking all customer suggestions, while meeting customer expectations and ensuring their happiness.
“The Ministry of Energy cooperates with all local and federal organisations to achieve the vision of the wise leadership to enhance the sustainable development, and the UAE Vision 2021 to become one of the best countries in the world. Our concerted efforts contribute to achieving the vision and directives of our wise leadership. We work as one team to make the UAE reach the top positions globally. DEWA’s Sustainable Building reduces energy and water use by conserving precious natural resources and promoting dependence on clean and renewable energy. It supports our efforts to protect the environment and achieve the long-term goal of Dubai’s sustainable development, and create a better future for generations to come,” said Al Mazrouei.
“I am glad to welcome His Excellency the Minister of Energy to DEWA’s Sustainable Building, which is the first sustainable government building in the UAE and the largest government building in the world to receive a Platinum Rating for green buildings from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The building saves 66% of energy consumption and has a solar power plant with a capacity of 660 kilowatts (KW). It also reduces water consumption by 48%. This green achievement supports the directives of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to promote the UAE’s position globally. It also supports the long-term national Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to achieve the sustainable development of the Emirate, and enhance its position as a global hub for trade, finance, and tourism. These efforts support DEWA’s vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility,” said Al Tayer.
At the end of the tour, Al Mazrouei commended DEWA’s efforts and commitment towards making sustainability a priority throughout the construction process, and the choice of materials used, which will help DEWA to achieve its strategic goals and attain recognition for its projects, both locally and globally.
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