Minister of Electricity Mohammad Shaker said President Abdel Fattah El Sisi asserted that electricity is a national security issue and urged for decisive and swift steps to settle the power problems.

Interviewed by MENA, Shaker said Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has repeated that time is not enough to settle the problems from the roots.

Despite criticism leveled against the electricity and energy sector, it has made several achievements regardless of limited resources, the poor power grid and population increase along with low level of maintenance, the minister said.

The minister shed light on the changes that took place in the ministry to put into effect the directives of the president and premier to solve the power outage crisis and provide all the means for extending more power lines with the help of police and army troops.

Shaker said President Sisi is closely
following up this vital file and asking about all details given the fact that it is related to the daily life of the Egyptian citizens.

The ministry devised an urgent strategy which included more dependency on various power resources; the new and renewable sources such as the solar, wind, nuclear and coal sources.

Shaker also praised the vision of the president in rationalizing the use of power through the use of energy saving LED lamps.

So far, as many as 4.6 million LED lamps were purchased, with 1.6 million already in use, added the minister, noting that the plan included providing as many as 13 million lamps despite the fact that the Egyptian market is in need of 240 to 300 million lamps to introduce a lower consumption rates.

The minister pointed out that a promising plan will be put into effect to replace 32 million mechanized electricity counters with smart counters within five years.

Since the onset of 2015 till the end of the year, the Egyptian national power grid is provided with extra loads of 6,882 megawatt in an unprecedented move, added the minister.

Another urgent plan to increase power grid capacity is to provide it with 3,632 megawatt through the contracts signed between international companies such as General Electric, Siemens and Ansaldo Energia and two Egyptian companies to carry out designs and infrastructure of power units that will be operated according to international standards.
Source: MENA