Incentives for use of electric and hybrid vehicles
DUBAI 25 September 2017: Incentives to encourage community members to use electric and hybrid vehicles – and promote use of sustainable transport, which will have a lower average annual energy consumption rate – were announced yesterday by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.
- Dewa’s registered users will be able to have their electric vehicles charged by Dewa’s Green Charger electric vehicle charging stations, completely free. This incentive will last until the end of 2019. This will be exclusive to public charging stations, and does not include home charging stations.
- The RTA will also provide incentives for electric vehicles, including free assigned parking, exemption from RTA electric vehicle registration and renewal fees, exemption from Salik’s tag fee, and arranging a special sticker for number plates.
“This is based on the strategy to encourage customers to use electric cars and hybrid vehicles, and promote the use of sustainable transport, which will lead to a reduced annual energy consumption rate,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy and MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).
“The Supreme Council of Energy issued directive number 1 of 2016 to set a target for government institutions. Therefore, at least 10% of all newly-purchased cars will be electric or hybrid from 2016 to 2020. The proportion of electric and hybrid cars will rise to 2% by 2020, and 10% by 2030.
This supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, for Dubai to have the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050, and the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy to cut carbon emissions by 16% by 2021,” added Al Tayer.
“During the second quarter of 2014, Dewa began implementing the Green Charger initiative, which included the installation of 100 charging stations. This stage was successfully completed by the end of 2015, in coordination with the relevant parties, including the public and private sectors.
Dewa is currently working on installing 100 more charging stations to bring the total number to 200 in 2018. Dubai Government has set the tariff for charging electric vehicles by Green Chargers at a cost price of 29 fils per kilowatt. This is a significant saving, compared to fuel-powered cars. Due to these efforts, the electric car sector has grown by about 30% between 2014 and 2016.”
The announcement was made at a press conference, attended by Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Energy, Abdullah Abdul Kareem, Director General of the Department of Oil Affairs, Lt Col. Dr Mohammad Naser Al Razooqi, Director General of the General Department of Transport & Rescue of Dubai Police, Marwan bin Ghalita, CEO of the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) of the Land Department, Nasser Abu Shehab, CEO of the Strategy & Corporate Governance Sector at the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), Ahmed Al Badwawi, Director of the Applied Sustainability and Renewable Energy department at Dubai Municipality, Waleed Salman, EVP of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, senior officials from Dubai Government’s organisations and journalists from different media outlets .