DUBAI (Reuters) – The Egyptian government announced on Wednesday that power cuts will be implemented until the middle of next week to conserve gas amid a heatwave.
Residences in Cairo have experienced power cuts this week due to temperatures rising above 40 degrees during the heatwave affecting Europe, Africa, and the Northern Hemisphere.
Although Egypt has a surplus of electricity, gas consumption intensifies in the summer as air conditioning usage increases. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated that load shedding was necessary due to decreased gas network pressure caused by higher consumption.
“We are currently implementing temporary load shedding until the network pressure returns to normal,” Madbouly explained. The government has been striving to reduce domestic gas consumption and focus on gas exports for economic benefit.
Egypt achieved self-sufficiency in natural gas in 2018 and seeks to establish itself as a regional energy hub for gas liquefaction and re-exportation.
Reporting by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Emma Rumney.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
