The government is considering appointing a consultant to study the feasibility of exploiting surplus energy production in the construction of desalination plants. Government sources told Daily News Egypt that the total capacity produced from the electricity grid is 42,000 MW and will increase to 50,000 MW by the end of July. The expected surplus is 18,000 MW. The list of companies to be considered includes Lemaire Consultants & Associates, Fischer Consulting, Tractebel, DNV GL, EDF Energy, Black & Veatch, and WorleyParsons. The chosen company will be responsible for preparing detailed feasibility studies for the establishment of seawater desalination plants and exploiting surplus electricity in operating these stations. It will also determine the proposed locations and the costs and the quantities of water expected to be produced. The government aims to expand the construction of water desalination plants in the coastal governorates to cover the increasing consumption of fresh water and to seek new resources. The aim is to produce 1m cubic metres of desalinated seawater within three years. The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has developed a strategy to deal with excess electricity production, a "revolving reserve," which means that a large number of stations and production units work at half of their capacity in order not to waste electricity produced, while maintaining other units. The capacity produced after these procedures must meet consumption needs. It also seeks to halt old stations which have been in operation for over 30 years completely, given that production will increase after the three Siemens plants become operational. The government is also considering the construction of electric trains to exploit the large energy capacity expected to be generated. In February, the Egyptian prime minister discussed the project with Siemens. In the coming period, the Ministry of Electricity is seeking to strengthen transmission and distribution networks to accommodate all electrical capacities and diversify the sources of production, especially as Egypt aims to produce 47% of total energy from renewable sources by 2030.
