Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has taken several measures in response to unstable weather conditions that include fog, wind and rain, securing and maintaining electrical facilities and stabilising the power supply across the country.
Sources at the ministry revealed that all authorities are on standby and are ready to provide all means of support to ensure the safe operation of the country's power grid.
Additionally, the sources said that the ministry is taking steps to deal with the unstable weather conditions including:
- Ensuring that all drainage and pumping stations are supplied by more than one source of electricity, in case of malfunction, and are working efficiently at all times.
- Reviewing and testing the efficiency of emergency units (backup source diesel units) at each drainage facility to cover the costs of energy consumption for the entire station.
- Checking on all cables between electrical grids and drainage facilities to ensure they meet the highest technical standards as per the Egyptian code.
- Ensuring that all energy units and distribution panels are above ground level at an appropriate height, and ensuring the highest levels of insulation with the provision of water suction machines in case of flooding.
- Ensuring readiness of maintenance and support teams to quickly take the necessary action in the event of receiving any notification or complaint of a malfunction.
- Coordinating with all parties to ensure the generation, transmission and distribution of energy through the electrical power grid by performing periodic assessment of the network.
- Following up on all the aforementioned procedures through inspection committees.
Egypt has been seeing unstable weather for the second day in a row, with low temperatures, rain, heavy winds, dense clouds, and mist hitting various parts of the country.
The cold snap is caused by a tropical depression arriving from Cyprus, which is one of the major tropical depressions to hit the Mediterranean Sea. The Cyprus wave will end in March, according to meteorologists.
The Egyptian Meteorological Authority is calling on people to wear heavy clothes, avoid carrying out electricity-related tasks and to exercise caution until the three-day cold wave ends on Friday.
Citizens should call the emergency hotline 121 if they encounter an electrical failure or malfunction caused by the bad weather, said the ministry, adding that emergency teams standing by nation-wide are better equipped to deal with electrical hazards.
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