Renewable energy may be the way out of economic quagmire for Egypt

Lack of abundant financial resources combined with the failure to form strategic plans is responsible for Egypt’s energy crisis.  Mohamed Shoeb, former president of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, said, "The energy problem is well known. Its solutions are also well known, but there is no will to solve it."

Experts suggested that the government should come up with innovative solutions. Solar energy is considered to be a viable and beneficial option for Egypt. Nations like Germany have formulated a plan to produce electricity from renewable energy by 2050. Solar energy has become extremely inexpensive; the cost of it has decreased by 90 per cent in the past 10 years.

Experts opined that smart electricity meters can bring down consumption in peak hours and thereby reduce electricity cuts. Power cuts have become frequent since 2008, but the cuts were limited to summer months. However, in the winter of 2012-12 blackouts became common.

The government can lower consumption of households that make use of several air conditioners or other power-hungry electronic devices.

Households can also increase use of energy saving LED light bulbs, which will reduce consumption by almost 20 per cent. "There are several ideas that can be studied and implemented, but we have been very slow," says Mohamed Moussa Omran, undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity.

Despite being the first region to start use of solar energy, they were left behind by countries like Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have started use of smart meters. "Transparency is missing, and that is a problem that needs to be solved. The government thinks the people are not capable of understanding the problem," says Shoeb.

Egypt expects to use nearly 2,500 megawatts yearly for the next five years in order to meet the rising demand, at a cost of $2.5 billion per annum. Egypt would also require funds to set up power stations, and fuel needs would cost at least $700 million per station per year. Foreign investors are crucial to the process of developing power stations as well as the power grid.

Nearly 80 per cent of Egypt’s electricity needs are met with the help of natural gas, the production of which has declined tremendously in recent years as a result of political instability and rising government debts have made foreign energy companies hesitant to invest in development of new gas fields. 

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