Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has invested more than AED10 billion ($2.72 billion) in electricity transmission network projects, said its top official, as the utility expands infrastructure to meet rising power demand.
Announcing this, Managing Director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said Dewa commissioned eight 132-kilovolt (kV) transmission substations in the first half of 2026 with a combined conversion capacity of 1,200 megavolt-amperes (MVA). The projects included 20 km of transmission cables, worth AED970 million.
The utility also commissioned a 400/132kV transmission substation at Saih Al Dahal within the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.
Al Tayer said Dewa is building 65 new 132kV substations and one 400kV substation. Over the next three years, the utility plans to tender more than 30 additional 132kV substations, extend 340 km of underground transmission cables and construct two more 400kV substations.
"In line with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and the Dubai Social Agenda 33, we are committed to meeting current and future requirements, keeping pace with growing electricity demand and expanding our infrastructure," Al Tayer said.
Hussain Lootah, Dewa's executive vice president of transmission power, said the newly commissioned substations serve several areas across Dubai, including Madinat Hind 4, Al Khairan First, Al Layan First, Nad Al Sheba First, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, Al Barsha South Fourth, Me'aisem Second and Al Manara.
By the end of the first half of 2026, DEWA operated 402 transmission substations, comprising 28 at the 400kV level and 374 at the 132kV level, Lootah said.
During the first six months of the year, Dewa awarded 21 contracts for new 132kV substations across several districts in Dubai, including Al Barsha South, Al Jaddaf, Al Yalayis, Al Yufrah, Bu Kadra, Jebel Ali, Airport City, Me'aisem, Saih Al Dahal, Umm Suqeim, Wadi Al Safa, Warsan and Zabeel.
The utility also awarded contracts to install 64 km of 132kV transmission cables connecting the substations to the grid, with a total value of about AED3 billion.-TradeArabia News Service
