Egypt needs to import $1.18bn in fuel to end power cuts—PM

Egypt needs to import around $1.18 billion worth of mazut fuel oil and natural gas to end persistent power cuts exacerbated by consecutive heat waves, its Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a televised address on Tuesday. It hopes the shipments will arrive in full around the third week of July, by which point the government aims to stop cutting power during the remaining summer months, he added. It has already started contracting for 300,000 tonnes of mazut worth $180 million to boost its strategic reserves which are expected to arrive early next week. Egypt’s government on Monday extended daily power cuts to three hours from two hours previously in response to a surge in domestic electricity consumption during the latest heat wave. These three-hour cuts will continue until the end of June, before returning to two hours in the first half of July with the aim of stopping completely for the rest of the summer, Madbouly said on Tuesday.

Egyptian social media has lit up with complaints about the impact of the blackouts, with some saying they have been forced to purchase private power generators. The problem has particularly affected teenagers preparing for the crucial high school certificate, with some posting about students studying by candlelight and others in coffee shops. A wedding hall owner in the coastal city of Port Said said he would turn one of his ballrooms into a study hall. Since July last year, load shedding linked to falling gas production, rising demand and a shortage of foreign currency has led to scheduled two-hour daily power cuts in most areas.

“We had said that we planned to end load shedding by the end of 2024… we do not have a power generation problem or a network problem, we are unable to provide fuel,” Madbouly said on Tuesday. With the increase in consumption related to the major development and population increase, there has been a lot of pressure on our dollar resources,” he added. He said production in a neighbouring country’s gas field had come to a full halt for 12 hours leading to an interruption in the supply, without naming the country or the gas field. Egypt’s Abu Qir Fertilisers said on Tuesday three of its plants had halted production because their supply of natural gas was cut. Reuters