Cairo: The war that broke out on February 28 in the region between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other has had serious repercussions on Egypt's economy, especially with the escalation of Iranian attacks on civilian facilities, civilian objects, and oil installations in the Gulf states, and the disruption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to a negative impact on oil and gas imports in global markets.
According to Qatar News Agency, the Egyptian government adopted a series of measures to contain the repercussions of the economic crisis it faced by taking several decisions that constituted a significant burden on the country's economy and citizens. These measures included raising petroleum prices and some electricity rates, in addition to closing shops, restaurants, and clubs at nine o'clock in the evening for a month, as well as implementing a decision to work remotely on Sundays each week, as part of efforts to rationalize energy consumption.
In this context, the Spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mansour Abdel Ghany, stated that the current crisis necessitated decisions to increase the prices of some commercial and residential electricity consumption brackets starting from this April. He highlighted that this is within the framework of several exceptional measures to maintain the stability of the current and electricity supply, in addition to adopting a campaign to rationalize electricity consumption and activating a number of initiatives, including an initiative to improve energy efficiency, especially in electricity-intensive sectors.
Abdel Ghany explained that the Ministry of Electricity had no other option to address the current global energy crisis, deemed the most dangerous in recent decades, except to decide on necessary price increases, to ensure the continued provision of electricity to all citizens to the extent they need, whether in their domestic, commercial, or industrial consumption.
He also noted that the government's decision to work remotely on Sundays and to close shops, malls, and commercial centers at nine o'clock in the evening contributed to the rationalization of electricity consumption. This led to stability and regularity in the operation of the electricity network in the country, with the development of a system for monitoring and operating the unified network at the national level, to ensure its stability and achieve the optimal and safe distribution of electrical energy in accordance with the highest international standards and specifications.
Regarding the burden that this increase in electricity prices has placed on citizens, the Spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy indicated that the ministry was very careful to ensure that these increases would not affect the lower household consumption brackets, which include the majority of Egyptians and represent 40 percent of the total subscribers in Egypt.