The Cabinet Media Centre has dismissed as inaccurate reports claiming that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced plans to implement daily electricity load shedding for six to eight hours, clarifying that his remarks were taken out of context and referred to hypothetical scenarios for managing rising energy costs rather than an actual government decision.
In a statement published on its official social media channels, the Centre explained that Madbouly made the remarks during a session entitled “The Egyptian Energy Journey: National Achievements and Future Prospects”, in which he outlined three possible approaches to addressing higher energy costs.
The first scenario involves passing the full increase in energy costs on to citizens, an approach adopted by several countries, including both developing and advanced economies.
The second would require the state to absorb the entire increase, necessitating additional financial resources or borrowing to cover the resulting burden.
Under the third scenario, the government would maintain existing allocations in the state budget while purchasing petroleum products at higher prices within the limits of available resources.
According to the prime minister’s explanation, this approach could cover only 50 to 60 per cent of public demand, potentially requiring more difficult measures, including electricity load shedding for six to eight hours daily.
The Media Centre stressed that the reference to extended load shedding was part of a hypothetical assessment of the consequences of different financing options and should not be interpreted as an announcement of an adopted policy or a confirmed decision to implement such measures.
