Electricity shortage in Egypt: “Avoid taking the elevator”

Avoid elevators. Work from home. These are some of the desperate calls in the heat wave and electricity shortage Egypt.

Constant power outages during the hottest month of the year lead to growing dissatisfaction – and gallows humor.

After eleven consecutive days of blackouts, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly this week ordered all civil servants to work from home one day a week. The decision applies until August.

The call is one of several from the government in an attempt to reduce electricity consumption, at the same time that the country – like the rest of the Mediterranean – is experiencing record heat with temperatures well above 40 degrees.

One of the more desperate calls, which has given rise to a flurry of reactions on social media, is to avoid the lift. In a statement from the country’s energy authority, people are urged to “avoid taking the elevator at the beginning of each hour”, as the risk of power cuts is greatest then.

In social media, one can read sour comments such as: “Avoid taking the elevator between ten in and ten past every full hour, for an hour, every hour during the day.” And: “If you miss the lift at 12.50, the next one goes at 13.10.”

Behind the jokes lies a deep frustration over Egypt’s economic crisis, with inflation at nearly 37 percent and a currency that has lost half its value against the US dollar.

According to Prime Minister Madbouly, the electricity shortage is due to the high temperatures that have led to consumption exceeding the country’s fuel resources.

Egypt has plenty of fossil gas, which is exported but also accounts for much of the country’s electricity needs. The cheap gas has contributed to the slow expansion of renewable energy, and today green energy is only about a tenth of the electricity supply.