Dubai saves 178 MW in electricity consumption during Earth Hour 2020

29 / 03 / 2020

By WAM - -

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has recorded savings of 178 megawatts, in electricity consumption in the emirate, equivalent to a reduction of 74 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, during Earth Hour 2020.

People in Dubai joined millions of people around the world in expressing their solidarity with efforts to address the threats posed by global warming and climate change, by turning off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances during Earth Hour, which the world observed from 20:30-21:30 on Saturday, 28th March.

With the theme ‘Raise Your Voice For Nature’, Dubai’s landmarks and government and private buildings also took part in the event by turning off their lights for an hour.

“DEWA has been organising Earth Hour since 2008, in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council,” Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, said.

Earth Hour, he said, aims to raise awareness in society and underline the importance of the sensible use of resources. It goes beyond just turning off unnecessary lights and electric appliances for 60 minutes. “Earth Hour aims to make conservation of electricity and water a daily practice to cut carbon emissions and combat environmental challenges such as climate change, global warming, and the unprecedented reduction in biodiversity,” Al Tayer added.

The DEWA CEO commended the results achieved during Earth Hour in Dubai every year and the commitment of all society segments, and government and private organisations in Dubai who took part in it.

The conservation programmes and initiatives launched by DEWA between 2009 and 2019 have achieved cumulative savings of 2.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and 7.8 billion gallons of water. This is equivalent to saving AED1.3 billion. Those savings are equal to the consumption of 327,000 apartments in electricity and 250,000 apartments in water annually.

These savings contributed to reducing 1.137 million tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to planting 1.3 million trees and consuming 134 million LED bulbs. The water savings are also enough to fill 14,000 Olympic swimming pools.