The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, has won the highest award in the European Foundation for Quality Management, EFQM, Excellence Model, becoming the first organisation outside Europe to receive this prestigious award, and the first in the Award’s history to win it from the first application.

DEWA got between 750 and 800 points, leading it to rank in the Platinum category, which includes leading companies and institutions that promote sustainable excellence. This is a new addition to DEWA’s list of global achievements.

"We dedicate this global achievement to UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. His Highness is the leader of excellence whose vision is the guiding light in our journey towards making achievements. It motivates us to contribute to making the UAE rank first in all fields, and at all levels," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

"During the launch of the fourth generation of the government excellence system, the first of its kind in the world, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum identified the basic features and proactive approach for future governments. This is based on achieving the best accomplishments in various sectors of the government, to reflect positively on the level of services provided to citizens and members of society. DEWA had previously won the Distinguished Government Entity Award in 2016, and the Leading Government Entity Award in 2017, according to the fourth-generation excellence system" Al Tayer added.

The EFQM, established in 1991, recognises the role of companies and institutions that have attained outstanding levels of sustainable excellence in all areas of the EFQM Excellence Model. A team of independent assessors spends about 500 hours reviewing documents and conducting on-site interviews for each organisation.

The EFQM Excellence Model Award is given annually, according to the evaluation conducted by the EFQM. A team of seven assessors visited DEWA to review its procedures and practices in innovation, excellence, continuous development, and policies to maintain its success. The team commended DEWA’s efforts, which contribute to realising its vision to become a sustainable and innovative world-class utility. It also applauded its accomplishments over the past years.

DEWA has achieved competitive results worldwide by reducing losses in power transmission and distribution networks to 3.3 percent, compared to 6 to 7 percent in Europe and the USA.

DEWA’s results are among the best internationally for customer minutes lost per year. DEWA’s figures reached 3.28 minutes, compared to 15 minutes recorded by leading utilities in the European Union. Water network losses decreased to 8 percent, compared to 15 percent in North America, securing global results in reducing water losses.