CAIRO: Several governorates around Egypt saw recurrent power cuts over the last few days due to excessive use of electricity, a source in an electricity company told Daily News Egypt. Power cuts affected Cairo, Giza and Sixth of October cities, with areas in Upper Egypt and Delta governorates experiencing power failure several times a day. The source at the company explained to Daily News Egypt that some governorates like Assiut did not see power failures in the past two days as a result of people s awareness about electric consumption. He added that there have been power failures in the past four days especially during the peak time between 6 pm and 9 pm due to the high electric consumption. Media reported that the problem started 10 days ago and suggested that cutting electric supply on a regular basis in some areas was aimed at decreasing the load on power stations. Mohamed Amin, president of the National Rural Village Monastery in Qena told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that the electric cutoffs have been recurrent in the villages since the beginning of the summer and that they have increased in recent weeks, to become a daily hassle. Amin said that he made several complaints to officials in the electricity sector, but the problem still persists. Recently, electricity companies announced a state of maximum alert to cope with the high electric load in the two hours after sunset due to high temperature and humidity levels which lead to the increased consumption of electricity. Electric consumption rose by 12 percent compared to last year s 7 percent. Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis said in a statement that this rise requires increasing investments in the sector to around LE 11 billion to meet the demand for electricity during peak hours.. He emphasized that the best solution for this problem is to guide the citizens to utilize electricity according to their needs. In an interview with a local paper, Younis also denied that there is a malfunction in the electric generators and that electric companies were given orders to cut off electric currents in particular areas. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy s press office told Daily News Egypt, We launched a media campaign to spread awareness about the issue and there has been a decrease in electric consumption as a result, as well as due to the better weather conditions in the last few days. The press office denied any power cuts in any governorates.
