Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has set a new global benchmark for electricity reliability, recording the world’s lowest Customer Minutes Lost (CML) at just 0.82 minutes, or about 49 seconds, per customer annually in 2025.

The result improves on DEWA’s previous record of 0.94 minutes in 2024, a reduction of around 13%, further reinforcing Dubai’s position as a leader in energy infrastructure reliability.

The milestone reflects DEWA’s long-term strategy of integrating advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, into its operations and planning.

“We utilize the latest technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly artificial intelligence, which we are fully integrating into DEWA’s strategies and operations,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA.

Al Tayer said DEWA’s smart grid infrastructure is central to its goal of delivering world-class electricity services while supporting broader initiatives such as the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).

He added that DEWA’s Smart Grid program, backed by AED 7 billion in investments through 2035, aims to improve transmission and distribution efficiency, reduce outages and system losses, enhance load management, and increase customer satisfaction.

A key part of this effort is DEWA’s Automatic Smart Grid Restoration System, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa. The system enables continuous monitoring and automated fault management, allowing electricity services to be restored quickly without human intervention.

The technology has played a significant role in reducing power interruptions across Dubai.

Since 2012, DEWA has reduced customer minutes lost from 6.88 per year to 0.82 in 2025, outperforming leading utility providers in the European Union, where the average outage time is about 15 minutes per year.

The record supports Dubai’s broader ambition to rank among the world’s top three cities through advanced infrastructure, sustainable urban development, and digital innovation.

As global demand for resilient and intelligent energy systems grows, DEWA’s performance shows how investment in AI-enabled infrastructure can drive operational gains and set new standards for utility reliability.