Egypt plans to install 3.5M pre-paid meters in 2019

CAIRO –2 January 2019: Egypt is planning to install around 3.5 million pre-paid electric meters during the year 2019, raising the number of pre-paid meters installed to 9.5 million, announced Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker.

As part of the plan, citizens will be able to pay their electricity bills directly from their mobile phones, according to Shaker, who said that the ministry is adopting facilitations for the sake of the users. “The new system will enable citizens to pay their bills from home,” he said.

He further explained that the new payment systems will not be tied to deadlines or locations to recharge the meters, “citizens will only need to make sure they have money in their mobile phones, which allows them to recharge their meters at anytime.”

“I promise the citizens a better service in 2019,” said Shaker in press statements, adding that the development of transmission and distribution networks is scheduled to finalize during 2019.

During 2018, the ministry announced it finalized the construction of 12 new power plants, four power conversion stations, six overhead power lines, in addition to installing 1.8 million pre-paid meters.

Furthermore, the ministry accomplished several projects to raise the efficiency of power distribution networks with estimated L.E. 22.5 billion. It also established three joint stations connecting Beni-Suef, Burulus and the New Administrative Capital worth €6 billion in cooperation with Siemens, which saved a total of 14,400 megawatts.