In 2009, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority commissioned a strategic consultancy assignment to develop a structured Demand-Side Management (DSM) framework for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The objective was to establish a scalable, prioritised approach to reducing energy consumption across the building portfolio and to quantify realistic, implementable energy-saving potentials at programme level.
Role & Responsibility
Winfried Haas, founder of HAAS Sustainable Consulting, acted in a senior leadership role within the parent organisation of a German engineering consultancy group, with operational responsibility for the DSM programme executed in Abu Dhabi.
In this capacity, he led a German and international engineering team on site and was responsible for:
Strategic and technical direction of the DSM programme
Development of the DSM methodology, savings logic and rollout structure
Oversight of technical analyses within prioritised assets
Coordination with ADWEA’s internal project leadership
(Organisational reporting was to the parent company; execution was performed by the Abu Dhabi-based project team.)
Scope of Work
Portfolio-level analysis covering approx. 34,000 buildings
Development of a multi-stage DSM implementation roadmap
Identification of an energy-saving potential of approx. 30% across prioritised building categories
Prioritisation of 200+ high-impact buildings
Definition of 8 pilot buildings suitable for early implementation
Execution and supervision of targeted energy audits within prioritised assets, including:
On-site measurements and data collection
Technical system analyses (HVAC, lighting, controls, auxiliary systems)
Economic feasibility assessments and measure-level business cases
Early consideration of EPC-type delivery models, including shared-savings ESCO structures, at a conceptual level
Subsequent EPC Implementation & Practical Confirmation (2017–2018)
In 2017, the Department of Energy Abu Dhabi (formerly ADWEA) awarded the contract “Energy Performance Contracting Services for Public Office Buildings” to a consortium led by NEEDS in partnership with Trigenia.
The EPC project covered eight public office buildings, several of which had previously been analysed and prioritised during the original DSM programme.
The implementation phase (December 2017 – March 2018), led by Dr. Mounir Yehia—former ADWEA project manager during the DSM programme—demonstrated that energy-reduction levels in the order of 30% were achievable in practice, closely aligning with the savings potential identified during the original DSM strategy and audit phase.
What We Did
Structured the DSM framework and portfolio prioritisation logic
Quantified realistic, implementation-ready energy-saving potentials (~30%)
Directed targeted energy audits, measurements and economic assessments
Defined pilot selection and rollout sequencing
Positioned the programme upstream of EPC procurement and capital commitments
What We Did Not Do
We were not the EPC contractor or ESCO
We did not execute the 2017–2018 EPC implementation works
We did not provide savings guarantees or participate in EPC contracts
Relevance for HAAS Sustainable Consulting Today
This legacy engagement demonstrates HAAS’s capability to identify savings potentials that withstand real-world implementation.
We apply this programme-level experience to help asset owners and public entities combine technical depth, economic clarity and strategic sequencing—preparing defensible decisions before EPC and CapEx commitments are made.
Disclaimer
This engagement reflects prior professional experience of the founder and was delivered before the establishment of HAAS Sustainable Consulting. HAAS was not a contracting party to the subsequent EPC programme.
