Several areas in Egypt witnessed power outages lasting for hours, coinciding with a severe heat wave hitting various parts of the country, while the Ministry of Electricity raised the state of maximum preparedness to cope with high loads and ensure the stability of the electrical grid.

Outages were recorded in a number of areas in different governorates, including Faisal neighborhoods in Giza Governorate, and Sayyida Aisha in Cairo, along with other areas in some governorates and Upper Egypt, due to emergency technical faults.

A source at the Ministry of Electricity said in statements to Sky News Arabia that "the outages that some areas witnessed during the past hours are primarily due to sudden technical faults that affected some components of distribution networks due to high loads and the significant increase in temperatures," stressing that "the matter is not related to a shortage in electrical capacities or load shedding."

The Egyptian government has repeatedly denied that it plans to implement a load shedding plan or return to scheduled power outages, stressing that the national grid is operating stably, and that what some areas are witnessing in terms of outages is due to emergency technical faults resulting from the large increase in loads and temperatures, and they are being dealt with and repaired immediately.

The source explained that the national electricity grid recorded a rise in consumption rates yesterday, with the maximum load reaching about 38,800 megawatts, an increase of nearly 800 megawatts compared to the previous day, coinciding with the noticeable rise in temperatures, while expectations indicate that loads will exceed the 39,000 megawatt barrier in the coming days.

As part of precautionary measures, the Ministry of Electricity raised the state of preparedness to the maximum level in all electricity distribution companies, intensifying preventive maintenance work, and deploying emergency and rapid intervention teams to ensure rapid response to any emergency faults and continued power supply, especially during evening peak periods.

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Details of the heat wave in Egypt

In the same context, Manar Ghanem, a member of the media center of the General Authority of Meteorology, said that the country is experiencing a severe heat wave due to the influence of an upper atmospheric high-pressure system, coinciding with the extension of the Indian monsoon depression on the surface, which leads to rising temperatures and increased humidity percentages, thereby significantly raising perceived temperatures.

She explained in statements to Sky News Arabia that "the peak of the heat wave will be on Wednesday and Thursday, especially Thursday, where maximum temperatures in Greater Cairo will exceed 39 to 40 degrees Celsius in the shade, while perceived temperatures reach 41 and 42 degrees Celsius due to the large increase in humidity percentages."

She added that humidity percentages exceed 95% on the northern coasts, while they range between 80 and 85% in Greater Cairo and the Nile Delta, making perceived temperatures 3 to 4 degrees Celsius higher than recorded.

She pointed out that the current wave is the longest and most severe since the beginning of summer, as it has lasted for more than 8 days, stressing that its intensity will begin to break starting next Sunday, with temperatures falling to their normal rates for this time of year, while humidity percentages remain high.