DEWA Cuts Approximately AED 5 Million per 132kV Substation in H1 2026

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Transmission Power Division of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has developed a standardized, digitally optimized design for 132kV substations, aimed at enhancing the efficiency, resilience, and delivery capability of Dubai's power transmission infrastructure. The design reduces the total time required for the design and implementation of each substation by more than two months and lowers the execution cost of each substation by approximately AED 5 million. The design has also earned a six-star rating in an international best-practice competition.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, stated that this approach serves the utility's broader efforts to expand power transmission infrastructure in line with Dubai's urban and economic growth. He noted that the standardized and digitally optimized design of 132kV substations is not merely an engineering or operational development, but represents a strategic pillar in Dubai's smart energy transition journey. The design helps improve grid efficiency, accelerate project delivery, and strengthen performance in engineering, planning, and implementation.

To date, this standardized approach has supported the construction of 90 substations at the 132kV level, 23 of which were commissioned in the first half of 2026. DEWA stated that the design has also improved the quality of engineering output and made it easier to reuse approved models in future projects.

In addition to cost and time savings, the design reduces annual energy consumption by the equivalent of 182MWh and cuts approximately 447.24 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. By eliminating around 8,000 electronic components and 140 kilometers of copper wiring, the number of components required per substation has been reduced. The optimized layout reduces the construction footprint by 220 square meters and saves approximately 12,720 gallons of water per substation per year by lowering cooling and auxiliary system requirements.

Hussain Lootah, Executive Vice President of Transmission Power at DEWA, stated that the design is based on a repeatable engineering model and can be continuously improved. The approach aims to standardize technical specifications, reduce variations between projects, and improve coordination between engineering and technical teams from the planning to implementation stages.

DEWA noted that digital optimization has also made it easier to integrate advanced technologies into substation development, including artificial intelligence, IoT applications, and more advanced monitoring and control systems. As Dubai expands its transmission network to meet growing electricity demand while maintaining reliability, availability, and efficiency, the utility will continue to develop digitally optimized 132/11kV substations.