An official source at the Ministry of Electricity and Energy said Jordan asked Egypt to increase the tolls on crossing the Egyptian electricity across its territory within the framework of the electrical line of the Arab Mashreq. The line carries 450 megawatts of electricity to Syria, Lebanon and Jordan outside the peak times in Egypt. Jordan requested $7 a megawatt. This demand goes beyond the international limits in this regard. At first, Jordan received a $1 a megawatt. This price increased to $2 after that. Egypt rejected the Jordanian demand and called on Jordan to negotiate with Syria and Lebanon to discuss that demand.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis said Egypt rejected Lebanon's request to grant it preferential prices for the Egyptian electricity it gets through Syria. The prices of the Egyptian electricity are the same in all the imported Arab countries. These prices have been defined according to the price of Brent crude on the world market.
Younis added, "We rejected the Lebanese demand because we do not discriminate between the Arab countries. In addition, our prices should not be lower than the world prices." The line's capacity, 450 megawatts, is divided among the three countries according to every country's consumption and circumstances. Egypt exports electricity during the non-peak times to ensure that this does not affect the domestic market.
