Egypt power consumption fell for the second consecutive year to 148.3TWh for 2020, a six-year low. The key reason for last year’s 2.2% fall is the Covid-19 pandemic – industrial sector power use fell 5.4% to 40.5TWh with business use down 12.8% at 6.6TWh (see chart 1).

But power use had already begun to fall in the preceding years as the removal of subsidies ate into demand whilst the country’s powergen fleet became more efficient (MEES, 16 August 2019). Power prices were again hiked from mid-2020 (MEES, 12 June 2020). (CONTINUED - 1260 WORDS)