DUBAI: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) entered into an agreement with Silver Spring Networks International to establish a communication platform based on IPv-6 multi-applications radio frequency (RF) mesh canopy for smart grid applications, such as smart electricity, water meter and distribution automation. The new communication platform will cover the whole of Dubai including Hatta and will serve all the communication requirements for any Smart Grid Applications.
The agreement includes the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of RF mesh canopy for smart grids. This will allow Dewa to provide secure and reliable communications for smart electricity and water systems, as well as additional services in the future. The move reinforces Dewa’s efforts to implement the Smart Dubai initiative to make Dubai the happiest and smartest city in the world. The agreement was signed by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa, and Mike Bell, president and CEO of Silver Spring Networks. “This agreement is part of our efforts to achieve the second smart initiative, namely ‘Smart Applications through Smart Meters and Grids’, which enables Dewa to build a wide and integrated smart grid covering generation, transmission and distribution systems,” said Al Tayer.
“Smart grid includes demand side management, assets management, power stations and networks automation, systems integration and smart metering. The Dh7-billion ($1.9 billion) smart grid is aligned with our other smart initiatives, including ‘Shams Dubai’ to install PV panels on buildings to generate electricity, and connect it to Dewa’s grid, and the ‘Green Charger’ initiative to establish the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations,” he added. “We are pleased to collaborate with Silver Spring Networks who have a globally proven Internet of Things networking platform that will give us a high-performance network to reliably deliver multiple electricity and water services, to the people of Dubai. Also, we intend to ensure that this platform is completely scalable to easily deploy new services in the future,” concluded Al Tayer.
“Dubai has long been a pioneer in energy and infrastructure innovation to support its economic growth and sustainability goals,” said Mike Bell, president and CEO, Silver Spring Networks. “Our open, standards-based solutions enable utilities, cities, and companies to accelerate adoption of IoT devices and services, allowing millions of devices to be securely connected over varying conditions and environments. Dubai will join many iconic cities around the world where Silver Spring has deployed this technology.”
