Dubai: Thinking of jumping on the Electric Vehicles bandwagon but confused about how easily you may be able to charge your car? With Dubai’s Green Mobility Strategy, owning an electric car comes with many benefits, like free parking and no Salik in Dubai. Charging your car, too, has been made easy, as Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) operates over 300 charging stations in the Emirate.
Where are these charging stations located and how can you use them? Here is all you need to know.
Step 1: Become a registered EV user with Dewa.
All electric vehicles sold in Dubai are registered with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). According to DEWA, once your car is registered with RTA, you will also receive a welcome email from DEWA with details of how you can register yourself as an EV user and the steps to follow to use DEWA’s charging stations. To register as an EV user with DEWA, follow these steps:
•Click on the link provided in the email sent to you from Dewa, after you have registered your vehicle with the RTA.
•Log in with your Dewa account if you already have one, or register as a first time user.
•Go to ‘EV Account & Charging Card Management’ and register by filling in the form with details of your car and TC number.
•Make the payment for the deposit (Dh500) and the EV Green Charger card delivery (Dh20).
•You will receive the payment receipt through email and the courier company will give you a call to deliver the EV Green Charger card to you within three working days.
Step 2: Check the closest charging station to you.
There are over 300 charge points set up across Dubai by DEWA, the locations of which are mapped and updated across platforms such as the DEWA website, its smart application, as well as Google Maps and Apple Maps.
As an electric vehicle driver, you have the option to choose from four types of charging stations that have been provided by DEWA. The chargers are categorised according to their kW(kilowatt) capacity, which determines how long it would take to fully charge your vehicle and how much you may need to pay for it.
• Wall Box Charger - 22 kW
Provides a full charge in two to four hours, depending on the type of car and battery capacity.
• Public Charger - 22 kW
Provides a full charge in two to four hours, depending on the types of car and battery capacity.
• Fast Charger - 43 kW
Provides an 80 per cent charge within 20 to 45 minutes depending on the type of car and battery capacity. Fast chargers are mostly located in petrol stations.
• Ultra-Fast Charger - 150 kW
DEWA has installed two ultrafast EV Green Chargers with a capacity of 150 kilowatts (direct current) at ENOC station, located at Expo 2020 Dubai and DEWA headquarters. Typically, ultra-fast chargers are able to fully charge a vehicle within 15 minutes.
How to find DEWA’s electric vehicle charging station near you:
• Website
To find the nearest EV charger near you, visit this link: https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/ev-community/ev-green-charger-stations
• App
If you are driving your EV and your dashboard displays that your car’s battery is low, follow these steps:
- Open the DEWA app
- Tap on ‘EV Charging’ on the home page
- Tap on ‘EV Charging Locations’ at the bottom of your screen
- Allow access to your current location.
- You will then be able to view all the nearest EV charging stations on the map.
• Google Maps
On your Google Map home page, go to the ‘…More’ section and scroll down to services. Click on the seventh option - ‘Electric Vehicle Charging’ and locate the closest EV charging station.
• Apple Maps
Open the app and go to the search bar. Type ‘EV Chargers’ and view all the DEWA EV Chargers in the area.
Now that you’ve decided where to charge your car, how do you go about it?
Step 3: Charge your car
Once you have located the charging station nearest to you, you can use the Dewa Green Charger Card to charge your vehicle. Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can use it.
• Scan your EV Green Charger Card and select the port you wish to use. (Each charging station has two ports)
• Plug one end of the charging cable into the selected port.
• Plug the other end of the charging cable into your vehicle.
• The station’s status light will turn blue, which means that the car is being charged.
• You will receive the status of the charge on your phone. Once the car is fully charged, or charged enough as per your requirement, scan your EV Green Charger Card again and press the ‘STOP’ button on the charger.
• Then, press the ‘EXIT’ button from your vehicle and return the cable to the charging port.
• Green light means the system is ready.
• Blue light means charging in underway.
• A red light or yellow light indicates an error.
If you face any issues while charging your vehicle, you can contact DEWA Customer Care Centre on 04 601 9999. The charging points have detailed user guides and instructions on how you can use them.
Next step: How do I pay?
As a registered user, you will not need to pay for each charge. Instead, you will receive a monthly bill from DEWA, based on the number of times you have used the charging facility. You will be charged at a rate of 29 fils per kWh
Not registered with Dewa? Use ‘Guest mode’.
Electric vehicles that are not registered with DEWA, can still charge their cars with DEWA, by following these steps:
• Each EV charging station has a QR code, which you need to scan to start using the charging station.
• You can scan the QR code either through the camera on your smartphone (if your phone’s camera has a QR code scanning feature) or download the DEWA Smart App available on Android and Apple devices.
• Once you scan the code, you will be directed to the charging station platform, where you can log in by taping on ‘Guest Mode’
• Next, plug the charging cable into the vehicle and select "Start Charging" on your device’s screen and press the "Start" button on the charger.
• The charging station’s status light will turn blue, which means that the car is being charged.
• You will receive the status of the charge on your pone. Once the car is fully charged, or charged enough as per your requirement, press the ‘STOP’ button on your mobile screen and disconnect the cable from your vehicle and return it to the charging port.
EV Charging costs for non-registered DEWA users:
As a guest user, you will be charged as per specific packages available, as a one-time payment. These are prices for guest users:
