The heatwave which has sparked wildfires across southern Europe has generated blackouts in Egypt, where the country’s power sector has proven unable to cope with surging electricity demand. Despite possessing a comfortable buffer between peak electricity load and installed capacity, Egypt was forced to announce nationwide rolling power cuts this week as gas shortages left its fleet of mainly gas-fired power plants short of fuel amid 45°C temperatures.
As the heatwave struck, many Egyptians cranked up their use of air-conditioning units and fans, leading to a record-high peak load of 34.65GW this month; up 3% on last year’s previous record of 33.8GW according to the country’s electricity ministry. With installed capacity of 59GW, Cairo in theory should have ample supplies to meet its power needs (see chart), but with 83% of this (49GW) gas-fired, shortages of the fuel plunged the country into darkness. (CONTINUED - 941 WORDS)
