Egypt may stop power cuts mid-May after arrival of 2 gas shipments: source

CAIRO – 24 April 2024: A source at the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy told Youm 7 Wednesday that power cuts might stop mid-May as two gas shipments are scheduled for arrival at the beginning of the month in tandem with the suspension of gas exports.

The shipments are imported by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources that has been coordinating with the Ministry of Electricity to secure the fuel needed to power the grid in the three months of summer.

A source at the Ministry of Electricity told Asharq Business earlier this week that the Petroleum Ministry would import three shipments of LNG monthly starting June until October. The cost of each will be $120 million, while its size will amount to three trillion British thermal units (BTUs), providing an average of 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, running power plants for 10 days.

The ministry estimates a daily need of approximately 105 million cubic meters of natural gas, along with 10,000 tons of diesel. However, with temperatures expected to rise in the coming period, the demand may rise to 135 million cubic meters of gas, according to the source.

Earlier in April, following Eid El Fitr, power cuts began as they take place almost daily for 135 minutes between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. according to a schedule set for each neighborhood.