Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) recently convened its executive leadership team alongside representatives from SAP and McKinsey for its second Agentic AI Executive Retreat. Held at its new Al Shera’a headquarters, the event underscored DEWA’s strategic push to integrate advanced AI technologies across its operations, aligning with Dubai’s vision as a city of the future.
Quick Facts
- Second Agentic AI retreat hosted by DEWA.
- SAP and McKinsey participated in the event.
- Goal is to become the world’s first AI-native utility.
Aligning with the UAE’s National AI Strategy
In his opening remarks, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, emphasized that the authority’s adoption of Agentic AI is guided by national directives from the UAE’s leadership. The move supports the UAE Government’s Agentic AI framework, which promotes autonomous execution and decision-making, and contributes to the government’s ambition to be the first globally to deploy Agentic AI models on a broad scale.
Al Tayer noted that DEWA’s AI journey began in 2017, with a clear roadmap to embed artificial intelligence across its entire value chain, from power generation to transmission and distribution.
From ChatGPT to Digital Twins
DEWA has marked several key milestones in its AI integration. According to Al Tayer, the utility was among the first globally to adopt generative AI and ChatGPT, launching services through these platforms to move beyond traditional digital models.
In 2026, DEWA became the first government entity in the UAE to implement a “Collaborative Work Agent” within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. A year prior, in 2025, it adopted Google’s NotebookLM model to produce podcast content from its press data, reportedly reducing content production costs.
The utility’s AI applications now extend to digital twin technologies for operational efficiency, smart substation systems for real-time insights, automated power restoration, and deep learning for solar power forecasting. Employees are also equipped with tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve productivity.
AI’s Tangible Impact on Operations and Customers
The strategic focus on AI has produced measurable results. One of the most significant achievements highlighted was the reduction of security deposit refund times from four days to just eight minutes, a process completed without human intervention. This focus on customer experience contributed to DEWA achieving a 98.9% score in the Dubai Government’s real-time Happiness Index in 2025.
Furthermore, DEWA’s virtual assistant, “Rammas,” has handled more than 13 million customer inquiries since its launch in 2017 through May 2026.
The retreat also included sessions from McKinsey on adopting Agentic AI in the utility sector and from SAP on the capabilities of AI agents in utilities, where various DEWA department heads presented their own AI initiatives.
About DEWA
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is the exclusive provider of electricity and water services in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The government-owned utility is actively pursuing a digital transformation strategy, with a strong focus on integrating artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and customer service across its operations.
Source: Zawya
