Natural gas-reliant Dubai electric utility to IPO shares amid solar push

Dubai's state-owned electricity and water authority plans to publicly list shares "in the coming months," the emirate's deputy ruler said Nov. 2, giving the utility a cash injection as it seeks to further its clean energy portfolio and reduce its reliance on natural gas.

The Dubai Electricity & Power Authority, the sole utility in the UAE emirate, is in the process of expanding the Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum solar park, which has a planned capacity of 5,000 MW by 2030 at an estimated investment of Dirhams 50 billion ($13.6 billion).

The solar park aims to provide 75% of Dubai's total power capacity from clean energy by 2050, from about 13% by the end of 2021.

By 2030, Dubai aims to have an energy mix of 25% solar, 7% nuclear power, 7% from "clean coal" and 61% from natural gas.

The emirate currently consumes about 1.5 Bcf/d of natural gas, much of which is imported from Qatar.

DEWA shares will be listed on the Dubai Financial Market, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed al-Maktoum said in a statement carried by the official WAM news agency.

No date was provided, nor how much of the company will be listed, but the announcement said the public offering would be carried out gradually due to the size of DEWA's asset portfolio.

"DEWA is a key pillar of the development in Dubai. Investing in DEWA is an investment in Dubai's future," said Sheikh Maktoum, who also serves as the UAE's finance minister.

He added that Dubai would seek to list other state-owned companies on the DFM under a strategy to increase the size of the emirate's stock market to Dirhams 3 trillion ($817 billion).