Climate change, overreliance on Israeli gas add to Egypt's power crisis

Despite the government’s efforts to address the crisis, Egypt’s power blackouts have worsened this summer amid soaring temperatures, a shortage of domestic energy supply and an overreliance on Israeli gas.

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 parts of the country. Temperatures across Egypt, a country often seen as a bellwether for climate change, have soared, and the heatwave came early this year in April, with temperatures regularly reaching over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). These scorching temperatures mean that there is a surge in domestic energy consumption, not just for air conditioning but also to keep food cool and edible, for example. 

The crisis worsened Monday when the government announced it would extend daily power cuts from two hours to three hours. The extended power cuts will continue through June before returning to two hours in July, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a press conference on Tuesday. He said his government wanted to eliminate them completely starting in July through the rest of the summer.

Mirette Mabrouk, senior fellow and founding director of the Egypt Program at The Middle East Institute, told Al-Monitor, “The power cuts are supposed to last three hours a day, but they're going for five hours a day in many areas and in the south.”