Egypt limits power outages to mornings during mid-year academic tests

The Egyptian government announced limiting the power outage plan to morning hours as of Wednesday to cater to the needs of students as the season of mid-year tests is starting,

According to a cabinet statement on Tuesday, the power outage plan will be applied between 11 am and 5 pm at a daily rate of two hours for each district in the country.

The decision came as a response to multiple requests by parliament members and citizens, said Mohamed El-Hommosani, cabinet spokesperson.

The mid-year exams are scheduled from 9 to 25 January for different education levels, followed by a break starting on 27 January and concluding on 8 February.

In October, the Egyptian government extended the duration of daily power cuts as a result of increased gas consumption brought up by high temperatures coinciding with falling gas imports.

The cabinet did not specify the duration of power cuts back then; however, many citizens took to social media complaining about a longer-than-usual blackout.

In mid-July, the government began a nationwide load-shedding programme to alleviate the mounting pressure on the country’s gas network strained by rising temperatures, which raised air conditioning consumption.