Egypt has succeeded in transforming the file of electricity and energy from a crisis that has threatened the economy over the past years, to a comparative advantage that can drive sustainable development efforts, through the adoption of ambitious strategies based on the expansion of projects & power plants to meet the growing needs of citizens, as well as large projects for the purpose of supporting the plans of the Egyptian economy towards starting off.

In this context, CEBC & ECIC had the honor to host H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker; Minister of Electricity and Energy discussing the topic “Electricity & its Role in Supporting Economic Development Plans”

In the opening remarks, Eng. Motaz Raslan welcomed all members and guests, mentioning that the crisis of electricity cuts, which Egypt has suffered from until, 2014 would have led to an economic crisis and huge problems for citizens. However, the Egyptian government had set a good prescription for the electricity crisis, which succeeded in turning the network deficit into a daily surplus.

He pointed out that what has been achieved in the electricity sector has succeeded in turning Egypt into a bridge to transmit energy to the world through electrical interconnection projects, pointing to the number of years during which this achievement does not exceed the fingers of one hand, which did not happen in the history of electricity, whether in Egypt or any other country in the world.

 H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker added that the electricity market was marked by multiple disruptions and blackouts due to, among other factors, fuel shortages, and infrastructure limitations, distortion of the exported fuel price, and population growth, all of which contributed to the widening of the gap between supply and demand. Therefore the completion of a fast-track investment program, which targets steam turbine and open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) capacity, and the construction of 14.4 GW of combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) capacity, comprises three power plants of 4.8 GW capacities. Moreover, Egypt has managed its energy deficit through increased domestic production, as a substitute for expensive imports. Considering the heavy burden of fuel subsidies on the government, in 2014 the country announced gradual energy subsidy reform for gasoline, diesel and natural gas with a subsidy phase-out for electricity by 2019.

His excellency has then declared that the Benban power plant won the best project financed by the World Bank and an investment cost of $ 2 billion for 32 stations, announcing that it will be officially opened during the next month, noting that Egypt is continuing to expand the construction of power plants at the level of the Republic, the last of which was Qanater Assiut Power Station, pointing out that a project is underway to establish and develop 47 control centers for distribution networks at a cost of 1.7 billion euros.

Regarding the prepaid meters, the Minister of Electricity explained that the citizen will be able to charge “electricity” through an application on mobile, noting that this system has been applied in more than one place and has very positive results, which then at a later stage will be charging through prepaid cards directly. This is as part of the program launched by the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, which includes the customer to charge and pay the monthly bill through his mobile phone, in an effort to improve the level of service provided to the citizen.

H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker, advised, we conducted an experiment in several areas on charging the electricity meter through mobile and visa card, and will be applied after confirming the success of the experiment. He also added, laughing, we changed the electricity meters of a large number of officials, even the Prime Minister, Eng. Mostafa Madbouly; who by now has an electricity meter that works with charging cards.

The minister then pointed out that the meter reader program has been applied from a (tablet) which works only in the case of customer presence, where this system will definitely cause a qualitative leap in the accuracy of recording citizens consumption. He also added that nowadays electricity companies have a role to play regarding corporate social responsibility, where one of those successful initiatives is ‘Bashayer’

Dr. Mohamed Shaker talked about moving towards a hub for the electrical link between 3 continents, as well as a project to link electricity with Greece and Cyprus, adding that there is also coordination with the World Organization for Electrical Connectivity (GEIDCO), pointing out that there is a delegation of Sudanese electricity companies in Egypt, who are currently discussing the activation of the connection line with Sudan, which has already been completed, and building the capacity of Sudanese cadres in the field of electricity and energy.

The minister added that we have set a plan to lift subsidies on electricity in 2015 over the following five years, which was scheduled to end in 2019, but the government decided to extend this period by two additional years, taking into account the difficult economic conditions experienced by citizens, to end subsidies on electricity definitively by 2022.

He stressed that the removal of subsidies on electricity will not prevent the support of some segments of electricity with less consumption.

The floor was then opened for questions and answers session, where several questions and suggestions were discussed considering the electricity and its role in supporting the Egyptian economy.

In response to one of the questions from our distinguished guests, about Egypt’s preparations to face any possible negative effects that may arise in the event of a land problem in the Ethiopian dam, which may expose the land of Sudan floods and the power plants of the High Dam may be affected. The Minister of Electricity, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, replied that Egypt is taking all its reserves by studying all the technical aspects related to power plants.

In response to another question; about the possibility of supporting the electricity and energy sector to heavy national industries through reduced prices of electricity, Dr. Mohamed Shaker explained that the electricity sector is burdened with large debt burdens to the petroleum sector, as electricity companies’ debts to “Petroleum” are close to 150 billion pounds. He pointed out that the state’s support for a sector that cannot make a profit is a weakening and exhaustion of the supporting sector.