Egypt to Implement Work-from-Home Sundays to Relieve Electric Grid Burden

To reduce electricity consumption, all government employees working in departments that do not provide direct services to the public will be required to work from home every Sunday, starting from 6 August . The private sector is also encouraged to adopt a similar approach.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly made this announcement during a press conference addressing the pressing heatwave that is affecting the operation of power stations in the country.

The issue is expected to persist until the end of August, according to Madbouly, prompting the government to announce a comprehensive plan to ease the burden on the electric grid.

The plan is set to run until early September and possibly extend into the first two weeks if high temperatures persist.

Additionally, Madbouly announced that the government will continue to reduce the strain on the power grid through daily power cuts of up to two hours. The cuts will be focused on residential buildings, while hospitals, essential facilities, strategic buildings, and coastal or tourist areas will be exempt.

A clear schedule of power cuts will be announced for all neighborhoods across the country, with implementation beginning next Monday.

Further efforts to conserve energy will include reducing lighting in public areas managed by the government, and scheduling sports matches to end before sunset to save on lighting in athletic facilities.

Madbouly emphasized that a central crisis committee will convene daily to monitor the implementation of these measures.

Madbouly clarified that these decisions were made solely due to the extraordinary heatwave the country is experiencing and denied any gas shortages or issues in the Zohr gas field. He stressed that Egypt produces enough natural gas and diesel locally, and that the government has ceased diesel imports since April.

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