!--Session data-- Official sources from the Ministry of Petroleum have said the ministry will reduce gas exports over the next few weeks so that there is more available to satisfy local needs, especially since recent overloading of the power grid has caused a crisis between the Ministries of Petroleum and Electricity. The same source said that the reductions have already started; adding that in one instance the cuts amounted to 70 per cent. A reduction in gas exports is the logical solution to satisfying the needs of the major gas-consuming sectors in Egypt, added the source. Gas exports to Jordan have also decreased by 30 percent since the beginning of the year, which has caused complaints from Jordanian officials at meetings between the two countries. Mahmoud Lateef, head of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, had earlier told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Petroleum Ministry gives priority to fulfilling local needs for gas, particularly those of the electricity and industrial sectors. Meanwhile, the power crisis has worsened in several governorates across Egypt. In Minya, hundreds of citizens lodged complaints with their local councils after water sanitation units and pumping stations stopped working. In Fayoum, pharmacists have complained that power cuts have ruined their medication. Meanwhile dozens of residents blocked the street to Qaroun Lake to object to the power cuts which have caused food stores to rot. Minister of Electricity Hassan Younis has given strict instructions to his employees to take people's complaints seriously and to punish officials who cut electricity in any one area for more than an hour. Translated from the Arabic Edition. !--Session data--
