The Egyptian government announced on Wednesday that regular power cuts will be implemented until the middle of next week, as part of measures to restrict gas consumption during a heatwave.
As temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave impacting southern Europe and North Africa, residents in various areas of Cairo have experienced power cuts this week.
Power outages have coincided with extreme temperatures witnessed in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Despite Egypt’s significant increase in electricity capacity over the past decade, resulting in a surplus supply, the demand for power, predominantly generated by natural gas, surges during the summer due to heightened air conditioning usage.
Cabinet citing Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has reported that load shedding, a planned measure of power cuts, has been initiated due to a decline in gas network pressure caused by heightened consumption.
“We are currently in a period of temporary load shedding until the network returns to normal pressures,” he said.
In an effort to prioritize gas exports and earn crucial foreign currency reserves, the government has been working to curtail domestic natural gas consumption since last year.