Egypt is halting load-shedding power cuts during the summer starting Sunday, following the arrival of some natural gas shipments, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Wednesday. This move aims to resolve a crisis that has affected the nation’s 106 million people.
The North African country has faced power shortages as high cooling demand during summer spikes consumption. Egypt primarily generates its electricity from burning natural gas. Load-shedding involves rotating power cuts across the electricity grid to prevent system failure when demand surpasses capacity.
Madbouly stated in a televised press conference that Egypt’s daily power consumption has exceeded 37 gigawatts, a 12% increase from last year. The petroleum ministry reported that Egypt has received five cargoes containing 155,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) out of 21 contracted cargoes.
Last month, Madbouly mentioned that Egypt needs to import around $1.18 billion worth of natural gas and mazut fuel oil to end the prolonged power cuts. Egypt had not imported LNG since 2018, but natural gas supplies have dwindled as the growing population and urban development have increased power demand.
Madbouly added that the government plans to address summer energy demand in 2025 through investments in renewable energy.
