The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has launched an emirate-wide awareness campaign to educate the general public on the need to reduce energy consumption during the peak hours.

The Dewa campaign encouraged consumers to reduce their energy consumption during the specified peak hours  - between 12:00noon and 5pm in the summer months.

There is a 40 per cent increase in power consumption between morning and peak hours, said a top Dewa offical.

During peak load times in the summer season, energy consumption in Dubai registers a dramatic increase, with air-conditioning alone accounting for nearly 60 per cent of the total power intake by residential and commercial users, explained Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of Dewa.

He highlighted the important role played by the electricity authority in preserving Dubai’s energy resources in the face of the emirate’s increasing energy demands.

"We are conscious of our role as the energy provider to Dubai’s ever growing population. At the same time, we also appreciate the importance of preserving our natural resources for the benefit of the future generation."

"Our summer initiative aims to strengthen the awareness of the community for effectively contributing to this campaign," he added.

The awareness campaign will target industrial, commercial and residential customers in Dubai through distribution of leaflets and brochures and educate them on the need to conserve energy and the benefits that accrue to them as individuals and the wider community.

The leaflets will also be provided to the staff and visitors to various government offices in addition to residential neighbourhoods.

Amal Koshak, senior manager – Demand and Tariff Management, Dewa, said the campaign's main objective was to promote the responsible use of electricity during peak hours.

"Instilling a culture of energy conservation is our primary objective of this summer campaign while also guiding our consumers for efficiently balancing their electricity usage during peak-load hours," Koshak observed.

"People need to play an active role in the preservation of our environment and we are confident Dewa's various education and motivational programmes will achieve that objective,” she added

Dewa’s awareness campaign highlights the small activities that individuals can do to decrease their electricity consumption.

For example, switching off electrical appliances such as irons, washers and dryers, dish washers, water heaters and ovens during peak hours, as well as using moderate A/C temperature (24 deg C) in the occupied areas and raising it to 28 deg C or switching off in the unoccupied areas can impact a significant difference in power savings.

Spearheading the drive for energy conservation in the region, Dewa has been conducting several programmes and initiatives including the World Environment Day activities that saw it hosting a series of exhibitions and workshops on water and paper recycling.

Its more recent ‘Best Consumer’ campaign rewarded 13 home consumers with cash prizes amounting to Dh22,000 for reducing individual water and electricity consumption.

The ‘Conservation for a Better Tomorrow’ campaign, which aimed to encourage Dubai students, schools and universities to decrease their energy consumption, helped participating institutions minimize the use of water by nearly 42 per cent.-TradeArabia News Service