Dubai Supreme Council of Energy approves final stage of laws regulating district cooling

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy approved the final stage of the laws regulating the district cooling sector and reviewed Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's achievements in the use of AI technology.

The laws will ensure the effectiveness of contracts between service providers and customers, the council said in a statement on Sunday.

“Regulating the district cooling sector enables the grant of licences to service providers in line with the regulatory frameworks approved by the council to raise the efficiency of operations and ensure the quality of services provided to consumers in Dubai," Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, secretary general of the DSCE, said.

"We seek to improve the system in which high-efficiency cooling energy is produced and distributed at an appropriate cost."

The district cooling sector’s market penetration in Dubai is forecast to grow to 40 per cent by 2030, from 25.6 per cent in 2021, in line with the growth trajectory of the emirate's population.

Dubai had 3.5 million residents in 2021 and the number is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.5 per cent between 2019 and 2040.

The DSCE, in its 75th meeting, also discussed the role of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and data management in the activities of Dewa subsidiary Moro Hub (Data Hub Integrated Solutions).

It reviewed Moro's achievements in developing digital services, smart management of data, operations and customer transactions that were implemented at Dewa.

Moro has expanded its activities recently to provide digital services and smart solutions to several companies and government organisations to improve practices and introduce AI in various activities.

“The council and its members are keen that Dubai is a pioneer in acquiring and implementing the latest AI and data management technologies through Moro to enhance government services and ensure operational efficiency to reach the highest levels of customer happiness in Dubai,” Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, vice chairman of the DSCE, said.

In February, Dewa announced plans to use ChatGPT technology to boost its digital offerings and support its services.

The move will make Dewa “the first utility globally and the first UAE government entity to use this new technology”, it said at the time.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence-based chatbot launched by OpenAI, which was acquired by Microsoft. The programme comes up with human-like responses to prompts in seconds, based on information publicly available on the internet.

Dewa intends to provide the technology through Moro. The aim is to “provide services supported by this technology and employ it in serving customers and employees”, according to the utility.