Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development’s (ADDED) “Electricity Tariff Incentive Program” took effect at the start of July, while the reduced costs will be applied retroactively from April 1, 2019, for the benefit of concerned companies, said chairman Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri.

Speaking at a workshop organised at ADDED’s headquarters by IDB for industrial investors, he pointed out that this program falls in line with ADDED’s vision to enhance the business environment and create new horizons for further growth and sustainability, which in turn, will provide key support for these companies’ efforts to be competitive across the local, regional and global levels.

“ADDED’s launch of ETIP reflects its commitment towards following Abu Dhabi Government’s strategic directives to enhance and solidify the emirate’s position as an attractive regional and international destination for investors, as well as boosting the local economy based on innovation, knowledge and sustainable diversification. In line with this, the IDB is also now in the process of developing detailed and clear guidelines on the new electricity tariffs for the targeted companies operating in the industrial sector,” he added.

ETIP is part of a broader line-up of national initiatives that have been developed according to ADDED’s continuing commitment to help accelerate Abu Dhabi’s economic growth and increase its global competitiveness.

Al Hajeri said: “Abu Dhabi’s robust and growing economy is due in part to the unwavering support of the emirate’s forward-thinking leaders, who continue to develop and implement growth-driving strategies. This visionary approach is epitomized by the ‘Ghadan21’ program, which was unveiled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

“The three-year programme, which will run from 2019 to 2021, includes an Dh50 billion ($13.6 billion) fund that is being invested across four strategic pillars--economic, knowledge, liveability and social--all in support of Abu Dhabi’s vision to become one of the best places in the world to do business, invest, live, work and visit.”

The workshop was attended by representatives of more than 120 investors operating within the industrial sector. The event started with participants being given an overview about Abu Dhabi’s industrial sector followed by a presentation highlighting IDB’s achievements. A presentation was also made about the many benefits and advantages to be gained from complying with the new program.

Ahmed Hilal Al Bloushi, acting executive director, IDB, explained that the aim of the workshop was to highlight the outcomes of the program recently launched by ADDED in cooperation with Abu Dhabi and Al Ain Distribution Companies during the Abu Dhabi Private Sector Forum. The new program looks towards enhancing the industrial sector’s economic impact in Abu Dhabi as well as enhancing the industrial facilities’ productivity in Abu Dhabi and improve power usage efficiency.

Al Bloushi added that the programme falls in line with ‘Ghadan 21’ programme and follows three key criteria--economic impact, productivity – value addition and distribution companies’ eligibility criteria, in addition to three other identified categories for industrial facilities’ evaluation.

He pointed out that the new tariff is calculated based on their respective categories based on the three identified criteria, starting from Dh0.17 for category ‘A,’ which requires the facility to score more than 80 points, noting that this tariff increases when evaluating the company under category ‘B,’ requiring between 60 to 80 points and category ‘C,’ requiring between 50 to 59 points based on the fact that the program will contribute to reducing electricity cost by 40 per cent.

He added that the economic impact criteria will take investment in Abu Dhabi into consideration, also including other components like Emiratization, spend on training (development) and expatriate contribution. He pointed out that the weight of this criteria represents 40 per cent of the total evaluation and achieving it would require the submission of documents and forms.

As per the productivity criteria, Ahmed Al Bloushi explained that it refers on how well the facility converts inputs into outputs, as well its capabilities in reducing the risk of costly errors and improving the ways of doing business. The criteria will also look into the value addition made by the manufacturing entity based on the total number of employees.

With regards to the distribution companies’ criteria, Al Bloushi stated that points will be calculated based on the connection and supply agreement for power signed with the distribution companies. He clarified that 20 points will be scored for the facility if its site is ‘distribution connected for power’ and the connection load is greater than five megawatts. However, if the site is a ‘transmission connected customer,’ it will automatically score 20 points. – TradeArabia News Service