DEWA Advances AED 7 Billion Smart Grid Strategy to Strengthen Dubai's Energy Transition

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is accelerating its AED 7 billion Smart Grid Strategy to modernise Dubai's electricity and water infrastructure while supporting the emirate's long-term clean energy ambitions. The programme, scheduled for completion by 2035, combines advanced digital technologies, grid automation, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure upgrades to improve operational efficiency, reliability, and resilience across utility services.

Built around six strategic pillars and 19 core capabilities, the Smart Grid Strategy includes automated grid restoration systems that can detect faults, isolate affected sections, and restore electricity supplies with minimal manual intervention.

DEWA is also expanding the use of artificial intelligence to enhance customer services and strengthen operational decision-making, while embedding an execution-focused approach across its organisational strategy to improve service delivery and institutional performance.

The initiative aligns with Dubai's broader sustainability agenda, where clean energy already accounts for more than 21.5% of the emirate's energy mix and is expected to increase to 36% by 2030. Supported by major renewable energy projects and continued investment in smart infrastructure, the programme is expected to strengthen energy resilience, accelerate digital transformation, and contribute to Dubai's goal of achieving 100% clean energy production capacity by 2050.

AED 7 billion Smart Grid Strategy through 2035 with automated grid restoration, AI-driven customer service and grid-optimisation architecture reflects the digitalisation-and-modernisation investment that renewable-heavy grids require. Grid restoration automation is particularly consequential - high-renewable grids with two-way power flows require substantially faster and more granular fault-response than legacy centralised-generation grids.

Clean energy at 21.5 percent of Dubai's mix increasing toward 36 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050 requires proportionate grid modernisation. Renewable integration at these levels transforms grid operation fundamentally - storage integration, demand response, forecasting-and-dispatch algorithms and voltage-and-frequency management architecture all need substantive redesign.

For utility operators, grid-technology providers, EPC contractors, financial institutions and consultancies with Gulf smart-grid investment exposure, Cognitud's energy transition, data and digital and climate action teams help clients evaluate Smart-Grid-Strategy-linked opportunities, structure long-term commercial arrangements aligned with Dubai 100-percent-clean-energy priorities, and prepare disclosures aligned with UAE Net Zero 2050, ISSB and jurisdictional smart-grid frameworks.