According to PM Madbouly, the government is rationalising energy in order to save natural gas to redirect it for exporting and increase Egypt’s sources of foreign currency during the global energy crisis.

“The state is directed toward providing the big amount of gas to export abroad and to get foreign currency amidst the global crisis all countries of the world is suffering from, especially the energy crisis that has impacted many countries,” he said.

Earlier Minister of Housing Assem El-Gazzar revealed that his ministry was given directives to study a plan to rationalise energy and water consumption. Hours later, Egypt’s Primer revealed part of this plan concerning energy and electricity consumption, which should be effective starting on Thursday

The Plan is as follows:

• Applying the daylight-saving time settings in malls, which are to be closed at 11 pm.
• Not to light the governmental buildings’ facades at night.
• Not to light the governmental buildings after the official working hours except for the service sectors
• To reduce the lighting of the streets and squares
• Not to set central air conditioners less than 25 degrees in buildings as well as malls
• To reduce the lighting of clubs, stadiums, and sports institutions.
• Standardising the energy-saving LED headlights in lighting all stadiums and in youth sports clubs.

Madbouly said that it is unclear when the crisis would end adding that citizens and government have a role in rationalising the use of energy.

Egypt has an electricity surplus of more than 25 percent according to Ayman Hamza, the spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity said in June.

While most power in Egypt is generated by gas, the country plans to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 42 percent by 2035.

The need to reduce petroleum use has become more pressing amid soaring energy prices worldwide in light of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which forced Egypt last month to raise the price of fuel products by up to EGP 1 per litre in the quarterly review, the biggest rise in fuel prices since October 2019.

However, the government has announced postponing a planned periodic rise in electricity prices to start next year in January instead of July to alleviate the citizens' suffering amid high prices.