Egyptian Prime Minister: $1.18 billion in diesel and gas imports to stop electricity outages

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a speech broadcast on television on Tuesday: “Egypt will need to import about $1.18 billion worth of fuel oil and natural gas in order to alleviate the ongoing power outages that have been exacerbated by successive heat waves.”

He added that these shipments will arrive in full in the third week of next July, noting that the government aims to stop cutting electricity during the remaining summer months. Madbouly explained that Egypt has contracted for 300,000 tons of diesel worth $180 million to enhance its strategic reserves, noting that it is expected to arrive early next week. On Monday, the Egyptian government extended the daily power outage periods to three hours instead of the usual two hours, to confront the high electricity consumption in homes during the recent heat wave.

Madbouly said on Tuesday: “The three-hour outage periods will continue until the end of June, before returning to two hours in the first half of July, with the goal of stopping them completely during the remainder of the summer.” (Reuters)