Egypt’s Electricity Outages Could Save USD 1 Billion Yearly

In a phone call with Al Hekaya program on MBC Egypt channel on 19 April, Mohamed El-Homsany, Egypt’s Cabinet spokesperson, stated that Egypt saves around USD 1 billion (EGP 48.2 billion) yearly due to its systematic power cuts.

The government is aware of the struggles that Egyptians experience due to the electricity cuts and this situation is not going to be permanent, according to El-Homsany.

He stated that the government is working on solving the power crisis and that the saved resources are used for essential needs, such as food and medicine.

Scheduled outages began in July 2023 due to a shortage in natural gas supplies, used for generating electricity. The shortfall caused a huge burden which was aggravated by high temperatures and excessive air conditioning use.

As natural gas becomes even scarcer in Egypt, the duration of power cuts increased in October 2023.

“The Ministry of Electricity sells electricity for less than its cost production, with 17 million citizens still paying just a quarter of the real cost of electricity,” the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said.

Electricity outage is currently scheduled systematically across the country, lasting one to two hours during the day, between 11 am and 5 pm.

After suspending the cuts during Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr in March and April, El-Homsany reported that plans to reduce electricity loads will be suspended in churches during the celebrations of Easter and the Holy Week on 28 April.