DEWA Aims to Become Debt-Free in 2020

Key Highlights

• DEWA looking forward to paying the final bond of $1.5 in October.
• It is working to build power plants with increased capacity.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) expects to become free of debt liability in the current year. The final bond of $1.5b is due to be deposited in October. The data compiled by Bloomberg shows that unused credit lines also account for borrowings by DEWA Dubai.

The premier power utility authority in Dubai also anticipates water and electricity levels to return to normal after they had witnessed a significant drop due to the global pandemic.

DEWA’s Managing Director and CEO, Saeed al Tayer, believes that ease in lockdown restrictions, coupled with the resumption in economic activities, albeit in a gradual manner, will help stabilize and sustain water and electricity consumption, similar to pre-COVID levels. For the uninitiated, the demand for water and electricity witnessed a drop due to the global pandemic. As most workplaces throughout the emirate were closed down temporarily to mitigate the spread of the virus, the demand for these utilities decreased.

The debt rating of Dubai’s premier power utility authority was lowered to Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service in April this year. It is rated two levels above junk. As the economy is returning to normalcy and properties in Dubai showing growth, DEWA is expected to experience more stabilization in the coming days.

Initiatives by DEWA

DEWA has launched new initiatives in recent years. Apart from working on conventionally used natural gas-fired power plants, it is also developing renewable energy. Other than that, it is also working on creating a desert solar park. This park is expected to have the capacity of producing 5,000 megawatts by 2030. Currently, it has an operational capacity of just over 1,000. However, construction is being completed for a further 1,850 megawatts capacity. Another section of this energy park will commence in Q3, 2020. It will produce 900 megawatts of energy.

Aside from this, DEWA is also working on a power plant fueled by coal. It is under construction along the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border. Once completed, it will be able to produce 2,400 megawatts of energy.

DEWA has taken great initiatives in the past for creating a green and sustainable environment. For the convenience of its customers, it also launched a mobile app that facilitates DEWA bill online enquiry in Dubai. Its web portal and app provide users with different options such as DEWA bill payment, connection request, connection termination etc.