Written by: Islam El-Saqqa
The Egyptian government has confirmed that the circulated reports regarding the implementation of an electricity load-shedding plan lasting between six and eight hours daily are incorrect. It stressed that what was circulated was taken out of its original context during an official event that discussed scenarios for facing the global energy crisis.
The Cabinet Media Center clarified that these statements were made during the Prime Minister's speech at the Egyptian Energy Track session as part of the Egypt Forum, within the framework of reviewing available options and scenarios to deal with the continuous global rise in energy prices and production costs.
Scenarios for Dealing with Energy Prices
The Prime Minister's speech included a presentation of three main scenarios for dealing with the increase in energy costs. The first scenario involves citizens bearing the full increase in prices, as is done in many countries, while the second scenario is based on the state bearing the full increase by providing additional financial resources or resorting to borrowing to cover the burdens.
Clarification Regarding Load Shedding
The Prime Minister indicated that the third scenario relies on adhering to the financial allocations established in the general budget and purchasing quantities of petroleum products at new prices within the limits of available resources only. He explained that this option might cover about half or six-tenths of the citizens' energy needs, which may require resorting to exceptional measures such as long-term load shedding as a possible prospect among the proposed alternatives, not as an enforced government decision.
This clarification aims to prevent the spread of misinformation and to distinguish between the economic studies and scenarios being discussed to deal with global pressures and the actual official decisions issued by the state to manage the energy sector and deal with its various challenges.
