THIS YEAR brought the worst power cuts the country has witnessed in the past 15 years. A much higher demand for air-conditioning during a scorching summer put unprecedented pressure on an electricity grid which failed to meet the challenge. According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, the number of air- conditioners went up to three million units in 2009, as compared to 700,000 in 2006, with an expected growth rate of a million per year. Responding to the overload, the government decided to kick off a plan in July to rationalise electricity consumption. As a result, 50 per cent of Egypt's streetlights, which consume 6.5 per cent of the total, were switched off. A LE260 million budget was further allocated for replacing ordinary street lamps with energy saving ones. Furthermore, a decision was taken to apply mandatory random power cuts across Cairo. The blackouts lasted different lengths of time, both during night and day. Resulting in public outrage, the power cuts cost various businesses financially, especially because they came without warning and during high temperatures. Despite the fact that network overloads only occur, according to the ministry, during rush hour, namely two hours from dusk, the overall energy consumption in Egypt has increased by seven per cent annually, outpacing production efforts. Realising the urgent need to add capacity to the national grid, in August the ministry announced several efforts to enhance already existing networks and power plants, as well as boosting power generation through several new projects expected to add 2,500 megawatts (MW) to the national grid's capacity by summer 2011. In October, a plan to share electricity with Saudi Arabia was signed, allowing the two countries to share capacity starting 2013, of up to 3,000 MW during rush hours. Egypt aims to triple its power capacity of 27,500 MW by the year 2017.
