Empower, the world's largest district cooling services provider, has begun construction for a state-of-the-art Command and Control Centre (CCC) in Dubai, a project which integrates all operations for the company.
With this centre, Empower will have a birds-eye view of all activities in 57 plants including operations, spanning from the efficiency of its cooling towers to consumer consumption patterns. This investment represents a global first: more than one million parameter tags on a virtualised IT platform for the district cooling industry.
The Command and Control Centre will be constructed by Avanceon, a leading manufacturing technology solutions provider. The CCC will use programmable logic controls (PLC) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA).
The technology will enable Empower to track operations across its 1 million Refrigeration Tonne (RT) district cooling network, and will use the world-class telecommunications network backbone in the UAE to connect the Empower plants with the CCC.
"Empower's Command and Control Centre will enable us to deliver secure, reliable services to our ever-expanding customer base," said Ahmad bin Shafar, Empower's Chief Executive Officer. "With the advanced technologies and systems in place in our CCC, information on the demand, supply and consumption patterns in each and every building unit will be available at our fingertips. Our integrated plant room will ensure that we can not only track our services, but spot and address performance issues immediately." The project is the first of its kind in the world, with capabilities of tracking, monitoring and controlling up to a million parameters in real time across Empower's district cooling network in Dubai that include landmark real estate developments like Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, and Business Bay, among others.
"Our systems integration plan will enhance overall operational efficiency," he continued. "We consider this project as a major milestone, as it ensures that our customers receive a consistent level of service from us. Though the project demands huge investment, Empower's focus is on long-term benefits, and we expect to reap huge dividends in the future in the form of customer satisfaction."