Initiative allows residents of the Northern Emirates to reduce their electricity bills by up to 50%

The Federal Electricity and Water Company intends to provide customers from the residents of the Northern Emirates with the opportunity to install solar panels on the roofs of homes, as well as factories and farms, to generate clean energy and pump it into the main network, allowing them to reduce their monthly bill by up to 50%, with the possibility of covering installation costs during the first two years, and opening markets to market industrial and agricultural products in destinations that require products with a low carbon footprint.

The project, which was announced at a press conference yesterday, on the sidelines of the “World Utilities Congress 2024”, held in Abu Dhabi, comes in line with the directives of the wise leadership to develop clean and sustainable energy production operations in the UAE.

In detail, the Federal Electricity and Water Company launched a joint initiative with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to promote the use of renewable energy sources in the Northern Emirates. The distributed solar energy systems project helps the company’s customers generate electricity from solar energy by installing solar panels on the roofs of their properties, and then transferring the resulting energy to feed the public grid, which contributes to enhancing the total output of renewable energy sources.

As the entity authorized to implement the project, the Federal Electricity and Water Company will provide certified contractors to install the solar panels, ensuring their compliance with the highest safety and security standards. The company will also ensure compliance through a comprehensive review and approval of documents related to energy projects, verifying the competence and commitment of contractors, and ensuring compliance with all regulatory standards.

The company will give priority to installing solar energy systems for its clients in the residential, industrial and agricultural sectors, allowing them to generate electricity from solar energy, and then transfer the resulting energy to the public electricity grid, contributing to the total output of renewable energy in the Northern Emirates.

Although customers will not directly use the energy produced by their solar panels, they will benefit from lower energy bills in exchange for their contribution to the grid. Customers participating in the initiative will have two meters, one to measure the energy exported to the grid, and the other to measure the energy imported from it. Each month, the amount of energy “exported” and “imported” will be measured. If the amount of energy “exported” to the grid is greater than the amount of energy “imported”, the difference will be added to the customer’s account for use throughout the year.

“The distributed solar energy systems project plays an important role in stimulating the shift towards clean energy sources in the UAE,” said Eng. Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for Energy and Petroleum Affairs. “All aspects related to safety and sustainability have been studied, and participants in the initiative will have great opportunities to reduce their monthly electricity bill.”

“This project supports the long-term goals of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, including raising the contribution of clean energy generation to 32%,” the scientists added, noting that the installation cost is borne by the customer, but in return he will be able to recover this cost within two years of operation.

For his part, the CEO of the Federal Electricity and Water Company, Eng. Yousef Ahmed Al Ali, said: “We are working on adopting the latest technologies to improve our operations, offers and products, and to provide better service to our customers. The pilot application of this initiative has shown a reduction in the consumption bill by nearly 50%.”

He added: “For companies, the new project will contribute to reducing operating costs and adopting more sustainable business models, while the first phase of the project will begin with the company’s clients in the industrial sector,” stressing that there are other aspects of benefit represented by marketing opportunities and opening new markets for industrial and agricultural products.

Energy: Free electric car chargers until the end of 2024

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Sharif Al Olama, said that “local entities that provide electric vehicle charging services have already begun implementing the unified tariff issued by a decision of the Council of Ministers,” stressing that the chargers affiliated with the Emirates Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Company are still free of charge until the end of this year, the official announcement of the establishment of the company, and the completion of all its procedures.

He added: “The ministry is currently working on installing chargers in the northern emirates, in addition to studying the installation of others in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in accordance with the previously announced goal of providing 10,000 chargers nationwide by 2030, of which the ministry’s share is 15%, in addition to other operators such as ADNOC and DEWA,” noting that the number of chargers currently installed has reached 1,000 chargers nationwide.