Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has announced measures to alleviate the ongoing power crisis in the country, aiming to halt nationwide power cuts by the third week of July. The state plans to import mazut and natural gas shipments worth approximately $1.18 billion to ensure adequate energy supply until the end of summer.
Speaking at a press conference, Madbouly acknowledged the current power cuts, which are set at three hours per day this week and will be reduced to two hours per day starting next week. He attributed the crisis to a 12-hour stoppage at a natural gas station in a neighboring supply country, which disrupted Egypt’s energy supply.
Egypt is interconnected with this neighboring country through a regional energy network, where it typically exports surplus gas during winter and imports it during summer months. Madbouly highlighted that Egypt has ceased natural gas exports during recent summers and has increased imports to meet domestic demand.
As part of Egypt’s strategy to establish itself as a regional energy trading hub, Madbouly emphasized the country’s participation in a network connecting it with neighboring states for energy trade. He stated that Egypt refrained from tapping into its natural gas reserves during the supply disruption, opting instead to await the resumption of operations at the affected station.
Madbouly underscored the potential cascade effect of power station failures if immediate measures were not taken, illustrating the criticality of stabilizing the energy supply to prevent further disruptions.
