UAE extends Free EV Charging

17 December 2019

Lab Chat

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that it will be extending free charging for all privately-owned electric vehicles (EVs) in the country until the end of 2021. The current incentive was launched in September 2017 and had been due to expire on December 31, but DEWA have extended it for two further years.

The decision has been taken to try and encourage the Emirati populace to purchase electric and hybrid vehicles, in keeping with the government’s objectives to make Dubai both sustainable and smart in the coming years. It has been hailed has a positive step towards cleaning up the city’s environmental act, given that carbon emissions from transportation are the second biggest contributor of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in Dubai.

Conditions for compliance

In order to take advantage of the free charging facilities, users must first enrol in the EV Green Charger Initiative, which can be done via the DEWA website or its app. Once registered, users will receive their Green Charger card through the post within three working days, at which point they will gain complimentary access to all of the EV charging points at DEWA stations throughout the city.

The initiative does not apply to corporate users, such as those driving government, semi-government or company vehicles. Commercial concerns such as these will still be charged the standard tariff of 29 fils per kilowatt hour. Meanwhile, non-commercial users who have a charging point installed at their home will not be able to take advantage of the exemption there either, but must visit a DEWA-appointed station to receive the benefit. However, given that EVs can now be charged in record time, such a condition doesn’t seem to be too great a sacrifice for free charging privileges.

A greener future

DEWA has signalled that they are extending the initiative to help the government in its aims of increasing the number of EVs on Emirati roads in the coming years. Between 2016 and 2020, for example, at least one tenth of all newly-purchased cars will be either electric or hybrid. This should go some way to towards helping achieve the target of reducing CO2 emissions by 16% by 2021, as set out by the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy.

“We support the UAE Vision 2021, which aims to achieve a sustainable environment in terms of air quality, conservation of water resources, increased reliance on clean energy, and green development,” explained Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, who serves as the managing director and CEO of DEWA. “DEWA also supports the Dubai Plan 2021, to make Dubai a smart, sustainable and innovative city in managing its resources, improving its quality of life, and consolidating its position as a global model for a green economy.”

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