Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mahmoud Esmat heading the meeting with the team responsible for the project on Monday 15 July, 2024. Photo courtesy of Egyptian cabinet.
In a meeting on Monday with the Egyptian task force following up on the project’s progress with the Saudi side, Minister Esmat stressed that the Egypt-Saudi electrical grid linkage project is a crucial element of the ministry’s plan to ensure electricity network stability and reduce the need for additional fuel for power generation.
"The Egyptian-Saudi power linkage project is part of the ministry's comprehensive and integrated plan to improve the efficiency of the country's energy system and find urgent, practical solutions to the current energy crisis," he noted.
“The project aims to exploit the difference in the peak load times between the two countries’ networks, including maximizing the benefit from the generation capabilities in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, reducing fuel consumption rates, and economical operation of the network,” Esmat explained.
Esmat added that the linkage project will also help rationalize the national network’s reserve during peak times and high loads, according to a statement.
Arab connections
Under an agreement signed in October 2021, a coalition of three international companies is working on the project, which is expected to enable the two countries to exchange up to 3,000 MW of electricity, he added.
Esmat noted that the project links the two largest electrical networks in the region and constitutes the foundation for a future Arab power grid connection.
The project consists of three high-voltage transformer stations: two in Saudi Arabia (in Madinah and Tabuk) and one in Egypt (in Badr City, east of Cairo).
These stations will be connected by approximately 1,350 km of overhead transmission lines, as well as marine cables.
Al-Sharq Bloomberg reported on Monday that the project is 60 percent complete, noting that the first phase of operation is set to start in July 2025, with $1.8 billion.
The maximum capacity of the project, which has a production capacity of about 3,000 MW, will be completed by the beginning of 2026, according to the source.
In addition to this project, the ministry intends to address the energy crisis by increasing the efficiency of power generation stations, reducing fuel consumption, and finding practical solutions to losses in distribution companies, Esmat explained.
Emergency plans
The meeting also discussed implementing the government's emergency plan to end the load-shedding programme and find sustainable solutions to maintain the stability of the unified national electricity network.
Since July 2023, the state has implemented a load-shedding programme that saw rolling power cuts of 1-2 hours across neighbourhoods nationwide to deal with energy shortages.
In recent weeks, the government has increased power outages to three hours amid a series of gruelling heatwaves that raised energy consumption.
The government says increased power consumption — especially amid ongoing scorching heatwaves exceeding 44°C in Cairo and climbing over 46 °C in the deep south — put pressure on the mazut and natural gas needed for power generation.
In June, the Egyptian government announced a $1.18 billion plan to halt power cuts from the third week of July until the end of the summer.
As part of this plan, the government has contracted 21 liquefied natural gas cargoes to help resolve the power outages during the summer months.
Last week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told the parliament that the government will stop power outages completely within the next six months.
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