Cairo : The Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip cast a shadow over the electricity sector in Egypt, after the occupation stopped supplying Egypt with natural gas.
Egyptians were surprised by the increase in the duration of the daily power outage to two hours, instead of one hour, despite government promises to end the load shedding plan with the onset of winter, and the decline in the rate of electricity consumption in the country.
The crisis began last July, with the government announcing its intention to implement a load-reducing plan, due to the high temperatures.
Providing natural gas
Sources at the time revealed a crisis facing Egypt in providing the natural gas needed to operate power stations, with Egypt’s gas production declining in light of the Zohr field in the Mediterranean stopping production.
Counselor Sameh Al-Khashin, the official spokesman for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, confirmed that the increase in the period of power outages, which began as of last Sunday, came as a result of the noticeable increase in temperatures compared to those in the same period of the previous year, which in turn led to a significant increase in electricity consumption. With the decrease in energy generated from new and renewable sources (wind - solar - hydro). He pointed out that the increase in electricity consumption from gas coincided with a decrease in the quantities of gas supplied from outside Egypt from 800 million cubic feet of gas per day to zero, adding: In order to continue operating the network Electricity was maintained safely, and loads were reduced until the temperature returned to normal levels, after which things would return to the way they were.
He talked about the decrease in Egypt’s gas imports, but he did not mention the reasons for this or the country from which Egypt imports natural gas. The
American company, “Chevron,” was, It decided to stop exporting natural gas through the Eastern Mediterranean Gas (EMG) sea pipeline between Israel and Egypt, and exporting gas through an alternative pipeline through Jordan. The decision to stop exports through the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Pipeline comes with the intensification of confrontations between the occupation army and the Palestinian resistance. . The Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline extends from the city of Ashkelon in the south of the occupied territories, about 10 kilometers north of Gaza, to Al-Arish in Egypt, where it connects to a land pipeline.
The 90-kilometre-long pipeline is the main link between Egypt and the giant Israeli offshore gas field Leviathan, which is managed by Chevron. Chevron said that it decided to divert gas due to security concerns as a result of the ongoing war in Gaza.
Egypt imports about 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually from the Tamar and Leviathan fields, which it uses to meet local demand and liquefaction stations that receive the gas via pipelines and export it to Europe in the form of liquefied gas.
Egypt's total gas import in 2020 amounted to about 1.72 billion cubic meters, and the volume of gas imports from Israel ranged between 4 billion and 219 million cubic meters in 2021, and between 6 billion and 296 million cubic meters in 2022, and in the first 7 months of the current year it reached 5 billion and 325. million cubic metres.
Israeli gas provided 10 percent of Egypt's gas consumption, and Cairo is working to export some of it to Europe in the form of liquefied gas.
The power outage crisis reached the corridors of Parliament, as members of the House of Representatives submitted urgent statements to the government regarding the plan to reduce electrical loads, power outages for periods ranging between two and four hours per day, and citizens not announcing the dates of power outages and their causes, especially with the gradual decrease in temperatures in conjunction with... Winter season.
A member of the House of Representatives, Diaa El-Din Daoud, said that he had submitted an urgent statement regarding the plan to reduce electrical loads, adding that Egyptians during the past days were surprised, despite the noticeable climate improvement and relatively lower temperatures than their previously high levels, by an increase in the period of reducing electrical loads from one to two hours, and sometimes up to two hours. The outage lasts up to 3 hours in some areas.
He added that this is done without taking into account the nature of each geography, whether village or city, and without an announcement, a clear plan, a timetable, or justification, despite the low temperatures, which increases the anger of the Egyptians.
Likewise, Member of Parliament Mahmoud Qassem said in his urgent statement to Counselor Hanafi Jabali, Speaker of the House of Representatives, addressed to Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity, and Engineer Tariq Al-Mulla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; There is great suffering and anger among the people and the governorate of Alexandria due to the power outage twice a day for 4 hours (two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening).
Qasim wondered: Why is this only in Alexandria Governorate? The rest of the governorates, such as Cairo, Giza, Qalyubia, and other governorates, do not witness power outages for 4 hours a day, but rather the duration of power outages ranges between half an hour and only an hour. He said that the phenomenon of power outages requires knowing all the real reasons that lead to the disconnection of power from citizens despite the drop in temperatures coinciding with the winter season, pointing out that Egypt, for the first time in its history, has achieved great achievements in the electricity sector, and the evidence of this is not achieving self-sufficiency in electricity during the era. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, however, is moving towards exporting electricity, calling for accelerating the study of the problems that led to the continuation of power outages in various governorates across the Republic in general and Alexandria Governorate in particular.
He expressed his deep regret at the continued power outage, despite the government confirming that this phenomenon would end during the month of last September, but it continued and even doubled the duration of the power outage, doubling 4 times inside Alexandria, asking: Is the government against Alexandria Governorate and why is the duration of the outage doubled? Electricity 4 times? Although Alexandria witnesses lower temperatures during this time compared to other governorates.
Electricity and energy
He stated that the matter requires the government in general and the Ministry of Electricity and Energy to clarify the real reasons behind the increase in periods of power outages in Alexandria Governorate, demanding that his urgent statement be included in the plenary session of the Council, and that Dr. Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Energy, be summoned to answer his questions.
In addition, the hashtag “power outage” topped the list of the most popular hashtags on the “X” website, and the artist Nabil Al-Halafawi participated in it and wrote: Temporarily cutting off electricity for an hour in the summer. We welcomed its extension to last September due to a heat wave. We understood its extension beyond the heat wave, We tolerated doubling it to two hours as we approached November, and now we are complaining that the outage exceeded two hours.”
Egyptian journalist Sherif Amer wrote on the “X” website: A friend who has nothing to do with politics told me, 25 years ago, they told us that we export gas to Israel until it is at our mercy. Now the electricity has been cut off for two hours, and they say the reason is that Israel stopped exporting gas to us. , God is before and after".
King Charles III says there 'can be no excuse' for colonial abuses in Kenya
There can be "no excuse" for the atrocities of British colonization committed against Kenyans, King Charles III said on Tuesday in the East African country, without asking for forgiveness as some demanded.
“Heinous and unjustifiable acts of violence have been committed against Kenyans while they were waging... a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty. And for that, there can be no excuse,” said the British sovereign during a state dinner hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto.
Charles III said he hoped to "meet some of those whose lives and communities have been so seriously affected" by colonial abuses.
“None of this can change the past, but by approaching our history with honesty and openness, perhaps we can demonstrate the strength of our friendship today and, in doing so, we can hopefully continue to build an ever closer bond for years to come,” he added.
This four-day visit, a few weeks before the 60th anniversary of the independence of this former colony, is Charles III's first as king to a Commonwealth country.
This trip by the 74-year-old sovereign and Queen Camilla (76 years old) underlines "the solid and dynamic partnership between the United Kingdom and Kenya", said the British embassy. But Buckingham also said it would be an opportunity to discuss “the most painful aspects of the common history” of the two countries.
One of the deadliest episodes was the Mau Mau revolt, the repression of which by the British colonial power left more than 10,000 dead between 1952 and 1960. Thirty-two colonists were also killed.
In 2013, after years of proceedings, London agreed to compensate more than 5,000 Kenyans victims of abuse during the Mau Mau uprising. After deducting legal costs, each received around 2,600 pounds (3,000 euros). The British authorities then expressed “sincere regret” for the colonial violence in Kenya.
But many Kenyan veterans and human rights organizations expect more.
The NGO Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) on Sunday called on "the king, on behalf of the British government, to present an unconditional and unequivocal public apology for the brutal and inhumane treatment inflicted on Kenyan citizens throughout the colonial period", between 1895 and 1963. The KHRC also sought reparations.
Tunisia: sentence increased to 15 months for the leader of Ennahdha
A Tunisian court has toughened on appeal to 15 months in prison a sentence for "apology of terrorism" handed down against Rached Ghannouchi, imprisoned leader of the Ennahdha party and main opponent, his Islamo-conservative movement announced on Tuesday.
Mr. Ghannouchi, in detention since April in another case, received a one-year prison sentence and a fine of around 300 euros in May 2023, confirmed on appeal.
The 82-year-old leader was convicted following a complaint from a police union denouncing comments he made in early 2022 during the funeral of an Ennahdha official whom he assured he "did not fear neither the powerful nor the tyrants", this word designating the police, according to the prosecution file.
“These accusations are false and devoid of any legal basis,” Ennahdha said in a statement, saying that the word “tyrant” had been “taken out of context”.
The appeal judgment “illustrates once again the subordination of part of the judicial power to the executive power and its desire to harass its political opponents,” Ennahdha added.
Mr. Ghannouchi is the most important opposition figure to President Kais Saied since the latter, democratically elected in 2019, seized full powers in a coup on July 25, 2021 and then had the Constitution revised to establish an ultra-presidential regime.
Leader of a party which has dominated political life over the last decade, he was questioned in several investigations in particular on the "sending of jihadists" to Syria and Iraq, or suspicions of "money laundering". dirty money".
Mr. Ghannouchi has been imprisoned since April 17 after speaking in public of a risk of "civil war" in Tunisia if left-wing parties or those stemming from political Islam such as Ennahdha were eliminated there.
Since February, more than twenty opponents, businessmen and other personalities, described as “terrorists” by Mr. Saied, have been imprisoned on charges of “plot against internal security”.
The latest arrest, on October 5, is that of the opponent Abir Moussi, leader of the Free Destourian Party, a movement nostalgic for the dictatorships of the hero of independence Habib Bourguiba and his successor Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, overthrown in 2011 during the revolution that marked the start of the Arab Spring.