File Photo: A Power plant in Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt. Al-Ahram.
As per the statement, the usage of natural gas and fossil fuels reached an equivalent of 165 million cubic metres per day of fuel in all forms.
The government first introduced the load-shedding program in July 2023 due to the rise in electricity consumption amid the scorching heatwave and the decrease in gas imports due to regional tensions.
The gas shortage also led the government to stop supplying fertilizer factories with natural gas to run power plants instead, the ministry explained.
To combat this shortage, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Egypt would import natural gas at a value of $1.18 billion to end the load-shedding programme in the third week of July, contracting for 21 LNG shipments to supply power plants with fuel.
Short link: