The city of Mahalla experienced an 11-hour power outage on Monday, which caused many clothes factories and shops there to shut down, MENA reported Tuesday.
Shop and factory owners complained about the continual power outages and that it caused them huge losses since they were not able to deliver products on time, among other problems.
They owners called onto authorities and council of ministries to interfere and confront the problem of power outages that lead to residents’ outrage.
“The cause of these power outages is due to the lack of fuel and increased loads on power plants,” Minister of Electricity and Energy Mohamed Shaker said in interview on ONTV channel Monday.
He said that high temperatures in the summer cause malfunctions in the generators that need continual maintenance and that they use 70 percent of natural gas and 30 percent of Mazut oil in power plants.
Shaker said building one new power generating plant could last for four years, that most of the current plants are over 20 years old.
The ministry decided to restructure the electricity prices since they have been stable since 2005, Shaker said in a phone interview with Mehwar Channel Thursday.
New and Renewable Energy Authority Head Shaaban Khalaf said they planned for years to apply solar energy but there was not enough political will to activate them.
Khalaf told Youm7 the authority planned to add 1,500 megawatts from solar energy and wind power annually and chose the areas to establish the suitable plants for future energy sources.
