Egyptian ministry: Energy saving bulbs will only save 1,500 megawatts

Sources at the Ministry of Electricity have criticised comments made by presidential candidate Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, in which he said he intends to use energy saving light bulbs to resolve the electricity crisis and save 4,000 megawatts.

The sources said that 10.5 million energy saving bulbs have been distributed among citizens over the past four years and that the studies submitted to the cabinet indicate that it is possible to save no more than 1,500 megawatts by using the energy saving bulbs and not 4,000 megawatts as Al-Sisi claimed.

Muhammad Al-Suwaidi, chairman of the Industrial Union, explained that most of the bulbs available in the market are “faulty” and do not serve the required number of hours or the amount of lighting in the specified watts as stated on the packaging. He demanded that factories be forced to abide by the standard specifications or to adopt the industry’s international specifications.

A source at the Arab Industrial Agency said that it is currently manufacturing a quantity of LED energy saving bulbs which have already been shown to Engineer Ibrahim Mahlab, Egypt’s prime minister, during his visit to the organisation last month. These bulbs will be made available to consumers at prices affordable to all.

Several villages and towns in various Egyptian governorates witnessed an escalation in anger yesterday because of the prolonged power cuts. Many citizens have threatened not to pay their electricity bills.

In Al-Gharbiyah Governorate, most villages and towns experienced power cuts six times. Some citizens complained that power cuts lasted 11 hours a day.

In Alexandria, a large number of citizens expressed their anger at the power cuts that led to an increase in the number of accidents and burglaries. The latest of these incidents was the eruption of fire in a petrochemicals shop in Al-Raml region as a result of the use of candles.