File Photo: A family uses an emergency light at the balcony of their house during a power cut conducted in Elmarag City in Maadi, Cairo. Reuters
The government has started to decrease the duration of load-shedding, according to the source.
On Tuesday, the government started implementing timetables for daily power cuts across the country to citizens with advance notice of power outages.
The heat wave that began on 17 July resulted in a surge in daily electricity consumption, reaching record-breaking 34,650 megawatts (MW) during peak hours.
This hike significantly strained the natural gas network that fuels power plants.
In mid-July, the government started implementing temporary load reductions to alleviate the mounting pressure on the gas network.
What to expect?
The official sources said the load reduction programme is expected to end by the end of August as the heat wave is expected to start subsiding.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced in a press conference that the "one or two hours" of power cuts might continue through the second or third week of September.
Madbouly indicated that the ongoing electricity load reduction programme would continue as long as temperatures surpass 35 degrees Celsius.
On Monday, Egypt’s Meteorological Authority (EMA) said that the highest humidity levels this summer are expected in August and predicted average temperatures of between 34 and 37 degrees Celsius, though it said the month could see short periods of higher temperatures.
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