UPDATED :Egypt adopted urgent plan to add 3,636 megawatt to network in 8 months

In statements during Sisi’s inauguration on Monday of a number of national and strategic projects in the electricity and renewable energy field in Upper Egypt, Shaker said the ministry has adopted an emergency plan to complete under-construction power stations and raise the efficiency of operating ones with the aim of adding 3,636 megawatts in a period of 8 months with a total cost of LE47 billion, a matter which he described as unprecedented.

He said the plan was launched in December 2014 and several stations have started operation in 2015, noting that such plan was an unprecedented achievement in all records.

President Sisi considered the problem of electricity an issue of national security and should be solved as soon as possible.

Shaker added that that total investments of the upgrade of power stations operating with simple cycle to combined cycle process reached LE27 billion, noting that deals were reached with Siemens to implement three mega stations with a production capacity of 4,800 megawatts per each to add a total of 14,400 megawatts to the power grid. The value of investments with Siemens cost euros 6 billion and such prices are the lowest worldwide, he explained.

He also shed light on the power station of the New Administrative Capital which is the biggest of its kind worldwide with a production capacity of 4,800 megawatts. The station is carried out by a number of Egyptian companies in partnership with Siemens, the minister noted.

He added that the total power production added to the national grid since December 2014 till the end of 2021 is estimated at 30,000 megawatts over a period of seven years.

Regarding Upper Egypt stations, Shaker said the capacity of such stations whether water, thermal or renewable energy ones was 3,400 megawatts before July 2014, while such capacity increased by 8,823 megawatts to reach up to 12,000 megawatts till the end of the current year with total investments of LE1.2 billion.

The minister of electricity also reviewed the state’s efforts to provide electricity to link cities in Libya, Iraq, Jordan, Cyprus and Greece with the Egyptian power grid.

He also noted that the ministry supported the state’s plans to provide electricity to areas where national projects are established citing the areas of East Ouwainat, North Sinai and Toshka in cooperation with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority.

Shaker said the ministry was able to obtain advanced technologies to transfer power across the country, adding that the state has 15,000 megawatts of reserve that could be exported to other countries. He also made it clear that Egypt is currently totally covered with a strong electricity network.

He said the ministry is working hard to upgrade the operation efficiency of the power grid to totally end the problem of power outage.

Before 2014, Egypt had seven high voltage control centres, and Cairo is currently establishing six new centres with total investments of LE5.4 billion, he said, adding that they include one regional center in Central Egypt and another in Upper Egypt, which were inaugurated today.

Egypt also worked on establishing a mega control center in NAC and its tender has been won by Siemens and Hassam Allam Construction, Shaker said, adding that the project has already started in 2020 with a total cost of EGP 840 million and is due to end next year.

The cost of Samallout regional control center reached EGP 684 million and it is controlling 92 transformer stations that are operated remotely, he explained.

The minister of electricity also reviewed the state’s efforts to provide electricity to link cities in Libya, Iraq, Jordan, Cyprus and Greece with the Egyptian power grid.

He also noted that the ministry supported the state’s plans to provide electricity to areas where national projects are established citing the areas of East Ouwainat, North Sinai and Toshka in co-operation with the Armed Forces Engineering Authority.

Shaker said the ministry was able to obtain advanced technologies to transfer power across the country, adding that the state has 15,000 megawatts of reserve that could be exported to other countries. He also made it clear that Egypt is currently totally covered with a strong electricity network.

He said the ministry is working hard to upgrade the operation efficiency of the power grid to totally end the problem of power outage.

Before 2014, Egypt had seven high voltage control centres, and Cairo is currently establishing six new centers with total investments of LE5.4 billion, he said, adding that they include one regional center in Central Egypt and another in Upper Egypt, which were inaugurated today.

Egypt also worked on establishing a mega control centre in NAC and its tender has been won by Siemens and Hassam Allam Construction, Shaker said, adding that the project has already started in 2020 with a total cost of EGP 840 million and is due to end next year.

The cost of Samallout regional control center reached LE684 million and it is controlling 92 transformer stations that are operated remotely, he explained.

As regards Benban solar station, the biggest of its kind in Africa and the Middle East, Shaker said the station was establish on an area of 36 square KM with a current production capacity of 1,465 megawatts and could add up to 2,000 megawatts. He said such station is ranked in the fourth place internationally and is also one of the highest in efficiency worldwide.

He said there are currently 32 deals of purchasing power from Egypt, the station is providing 10,000 job opportunities and its total investments reached $2 billion, noting that the station was mainly aiming at reducing harmful gas emissions by 2 million tonnes annually.

Shaker also shed light on Kom Ombu solar energy station with a production capacity of 26 megawatts and is also saving 11 tonnes of fuel annually. He said it has contributed to reducing harmful gas emissions by 30 tonnes annually. Its total investment reached LE380 million.

The minister also reviewed the investments of energy production through wind energy, hydroelectricity as well as green hydrogen.

He said total direct investments in the under construction electricity projects (with a capacity of 3,500 megawatts) was estimated at $4.4 billion and all projects are carried out by foreign capitals.