DEWA honours residents in utility conservation in Best Consumer Awards at SmarTech @ WETEX 2012

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has honored the winners of the coveted Best Consumer Award, in the residential sector, at a presentation held at SmarTech@WETEX 2012 during the world’s leading Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) on Thursday 15^th March 2012, with cash prizes. 

The Best Consumer Award is a conservation recognition program aimed at encouraging the rational use of utilities by households and residents in Dubai. It has been implemented in-line with DEWA’s strategy for sustainable development. 

“The Best Consumer Award is now in its eight year and has become a inherent part of DEWA’s strategy to conserve electricity and 20 other environmental initiatives that have been implemented throughout the year by encouraging all the sectors in the Emirate, including residential, commercial, industrial, educational and government organizations to adapt the concept of conservation in their work and daily lives. Also, we are launching more high-tech initiatives in line with the initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, under the title ‘Green Economy for Sustainable Development,’ and the vision of Dubai to assure economic growth and spreading awareness about conservation and protecting the environment for Generations to Come,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA. 

“But to succeed we all have an important role to play in changing our energy consumption habits and engaging the community in exciting ways to conserve electricity and water and rewarding their efforts for good conservation practices, which play vital roles in encouraging participation and securing a sustainable future for the emirate.”

During the ceremony, DEWA also announced that the 2011 Best Consumer Awards obtained the highest number of participants registering to take part in the competition with 4,000 entrants confirming their commitment to conserve on utilities. This figure amounted to a 139% rise on the 2009 participation levels and resulted in an overall increase on utility savings in financial terms from 2009 figures by 138% to reach an impressive AED 5,389,409 worth of energy savings generated from the Best Consumer Awards. 

During the ceremony, Amal Koshak, Senior Manager, Marketing Communication, at DEWA recognized the top 12 consumers from the residential sector for their efforts on conserving electricity and water and their support of the preservation of resources by committing to reducing utility consumption. The title of Best Consumer for 2011 was awarded to Fatima Saif Majid Salem, whose concentrated efforts to conserve resources achieved a staggering 42,220 kW/h saving on electricity, a 127,268 gallons savings in water; as corresponding savings on her utility bill.

The runner-up position in the Best Consumer Awards went to Bachar Tamrawi followed by Maryam Ali Bilal Al Balooshi. 

“Each year the savings of electricity and water achieved by residents in Dubai and the ideas and efforts they display in reducing utility consumption surprise me. I am thrilled to be able to reward and recognize residents commitment to reducing their utility consumption. The participation in the program continues to grow and this year we have again achieved top saving rates. To win the cash prizes people need to register their participation in the program, however I would ask every resident to take steps to conserve energy every day by taking simple measures to reduce their consumption such as taking a shower instead of a bath or changing lights to energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs. This way we can all make conservation a natural feature in our lives and collectively build a better tomorrow,” Said Koshak. 

In total the Best Consumer Awards 2011-2012 saved 10,611,753 (kWh) of electricity, 42,908,840 (IG) of water and 6,367 Tonnes of CO2 emissions, the equivalent to 294,771 number of CFL lamps and 7,233 trees off set. 

The 2011-2012 Best Consumer Award, now in its eighth year, is part of DEWA’s wider energy conservation strategy and program of around 20 environmentally-conscious initiatives held throughout the year across all customer segments of DEWA, such as residential, commercial, industrial, educational, government and semi-government. 

As well as the Best Consumer Awards, DEWA encourages residents to extend their saving of utility charges by taking advantage of the 17 bill payment channels designed to bring convenience, comfort and choice as well as saving time for its valued customers.  Many of these channels of payment offer ‘green’ alternatives to traditional methods and include the DEWA website, mPay, DEWA Customer Service Centres, Drive-thru service at various centres, Etisalat payment machine, Emirates Post, ENOC/EPPCO, Bank ATM Machines, bank counters, tele-banking, direct debit service, iPhone application, iPad application, Blackberry Applications, Blackberry Playbook application, Windows 7, and Android applications. 

Residential customers wishing to enter the 2012-2013 Best Consumer Award, please visit www.dewa.gov.ae. The new edition will have two new requirement, which is requesting customers to use DEWA’s available online channels for business transaction purposes, and in a timely manner. This method will also provide for the customer better chances to win the coveted Dewa’s ‘Best Consumer Award.’ For more information, residents can call DEWA Customer Service team on 04 6019999.