Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has become the first power utility in the Middle East and North Africa to join the global Virtual Protection Automation and Control (vPAC) Alliance, signalling a new milestone in the authority’s digital transformation and leadership in smart energy systems.

The announcement was made during the 27th Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) 2025. The agreement was signed by Hussain Lootah, Executive Vice President of Transmission Power at DEWA, and Brant Heap, Chairperson of the vPAC Alliance, in the presence of HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said: “In line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the best city in the world, we continue our efforts to utilise the latest technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to enhance the efficiency and reliability of electricity and water networks. We are pleased to join the vPAC Alliance as the first utility in the region, which will open new horizons for co-operation with pioneering global energy utilities. Through this membership, our engineers and experts will exchange global best practices and the latest innovative solutions to develop sustainable systems that keep pace with the rapid growth in energy and water demand. Additionally, we will share our expertise and pioneering experiences in smart grids and advanced infrastructure. DEWA achieved first place globally in 12 key performance indicators in its areas of work.”

Brant Heap added: “vPAC Alliance proudly partners with DEWA to accelerate grid transformation, powering the AI economy’s growing energy needs and building tomorrow’s infrastructure faster and smarter.”

The vPAC Alliance brings together leading organisations in the energy systems sector to develop open, secure, and interoperable standards for the protection, automation, and control of power substations. It promotes software-based solutions to improve operational performance, enhance network reliability, and increase system flexibility.

DEWA’s operational record underlines its leadership in the sector. In 2024, the authority recorded the world’s lowest electricity transmission and distribution network losses at just 2%, compared with 6%-7% in Europe and the US. It also set a global benchmark for reliability with only 0.94 minutes of customer downtime per year, compared with an average of 15 minutes across the European Union.