Bruce Smith

Bruce joined the Abu Dhabi power and water sector in 2004 as Regulation and Performance Manager to the transmission business TRANSCO. In 2009 he moved to the corporate holding company (ADWEA) as Business Advisor to the Director General and in June 2014 became Advisor to the Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC). In 2015 he became the Director of Planning and Forecasting and acting Managing Director in July 2018. In November 2018, ADWEC’s role was expanded under a new law to include the planning and procurement of new capacity in the Northern Emirate with the establishment of the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC).
EWEC is the ‘Single Buyer’ of water and electricity within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the 4 Northern Emirates served by the Federal Electricity and Water Authority. It is responsible for planning the required generation and desalination capacity and technology to minimise costs, procuring this capacity, managing the contracts over their duration and procuring fuel. The role of the single buyer, EWEC, is undergoing a dramatic period of change as its roles widen to include the procurement of capacity from new and alternative sources such as nuclear, solar, batteries and reverse osmosis, the direct sale of power and water to large customers outside of Abu Dhabi and a strong push to enhance the capabilities of its workforce.
Over the past 5 years Bruce has led the development of the sector’s water and power generation expansion plans and, over the past 9 months, led the establishment of EWEC.
Before joining ADWEA, Bruce worked for a UK based management consultancy specializing in supporting planning, performance and risk management within the power and water sector. He started his career in the utility sector as an Operations Manager with Anglian Water in 1992 following an MSc in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College, London.