Minister of Electricity Hassan Younis has instructed heads of electric power distribution companies to provide technical support to local authorities to help them implement a cabinet decision to halve electricity usage at government institutions and for street lighting. The plan is to switch off every other lamppost, the minister said--so that the lighting of any one street will not be entirely turned off. The plan has already been piloted in several areas to ensure there will be no negative impact on the flow of traffic, according to Younis. He assured that the level of lighting will still conform to international standards, citing studies that show the level of lighting in some of Egypt's streets is three to five times higher than lighting in European and American cities. Public lighting in Egypt accounts for 6.5 percent of Egypt's total consumption of electricity, Younis added. The minister emphasized the need to limit consumption of electricity at government institutions by reducing lighting during the daytime and switching off all lights at night. He added that LE260,000,000 has been allocated to a three-year project to replace regular incandescent light bulbs with a low-consumption fluorescent alternative. Implementation of the project started in the fiscal year 2008/09. Younis said his ministry has received complaints about the lack of street lighting in some areas, explaining that this happens because local authorities turn off a master switch that shuts down 10-12 lampposts at a time. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
